Gotta Get Thru This
by WeBeTheCrew
Summary: Shortly after "Jade Gets Crushed", Andre and Jade find themselves in quite the predicament when they confess their feelings for each other. The situation takes a turn for the worse when Tori begins pining after Andre. After going through months of heartbreak, revenge, romance and redemption; who will Andre end up with in the end? (Latest chapter takes place after "Crazy Ponnie").
1. Can't Get My Mind Off Of You

**Chapter One: Can't Get My Mind Off Of You**

It was late at night. Many hours after his big performance at the school.

Andre Harris was having trouble going back to sleep. The topic that was on his mind at the time continued to bother him.

* * *

><p>"Jade who?" he jokingly said to Tori, at he walked off to hang out with the girl he met earlier that night.<p>

* * *

><p>Andre found it frightening that his mind once again found itself focused on the dark haired girl.<p>

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked himself, while staring at his room ceiling.

He remembered back to the other night when he recognized his feelings for Jade.

* * *

><p>The late night recording session.<p>

The surprisingly sweet side of Jade that he once thought didn't exist.

The angelic voice that she had as she sang that night.

That cute little smile on her face that made him feel as if reality was a dream.

* * *

><p>All of this rushed through his mind as if it was a swirling whirlpool of confusing thoughts.<p>

You see, Andre has never felt like this about any girl… well… there was one other.

"Tori!" he said, sitting up in his bed and picking up his phone.

There were four missed calls and two voicemails left from Tori.

Even though his mind was now focused on Tori, a recent memory caused him to go back to Jade.

* * *

><p>Andre was sitting on the couch at Tori's house and staring at a Jade-like Tori.<p>

"…I'll be way meaner to you." said the Jade-like Tori.

She was acting too much like Jade. As much as he like the sweet side that Jade had hid, Andre found something attractive about her mean side.

His mind became blank at that moment, the only thing he could think of was Jade, nothing but Jade.

Tori began to look more and more like Jade. It even got to the point where he felt as if he was back in the recording studio with her.

Everyone became second to him, even his best friend Beck.

_Beck who?_ he thought, as he began to lean closer and closer towards Jade.

All he wanted was just one kiss. One kiss to build a dream on. One kiss for everything to be perfect.

As he moved closer, Jade moved even closer until their lips almost touched.

"Oh, Jade…" he moaned as his perfect dream was almost a reality.

Strangely, at that moment, Jade suddenly yelled.

"Andre!"

But something was wrong with her voice, it sounded… like Tori's.

_What the hell!_ he thought, as he soon felt a pillow hit him in the face.

* * *

><p>Andre woke up.<p>

He found himself laying on the floor and realized he was sleeping sitting against the headboard and accidentally fell over.

His head was hurting but not only because he fell on the floor, but because his thoughts were ricocheting against his skull.

One of these thoughts frightened him.

_Beck._

"I can't possibly betray my best friend like that." Andre said, sitting on the floor and rubbing his forehead. "But… I almost did… in my mind at least and I didn't even care about how Beck would feel at all."

Still sitting on the floor, Andre fell into a deep thought.

He remembered being on stage, singing with Tori and constantly focused on Jade.

* * *

><p>How come Jade all of a sudden looked so beautiful to him?<p>

It was like for years being in the presence of a disguised angel and you've just discovered the part of them that is angelic.

Don't get him wrong, Andre didn't forget about the other side of Jade. He knew that she wasn't all nice and sweet.

But he didn't care about her nasty side.

Not really.

He does remember the look on Beck's face that night.

It was like he was completely oblivious to what was going on.

At that point, that's where Andre wanted it to be.

He knew it was wrong, but what could he possibly do about it.

In his mind, Jade was… something special to look at.

To think about.

To talk about.

To hear about.

* * *

><p>It was like there was no end to the insanity he was feeling.<p>

He had to go somewhere.

It was almost 9:30 in the morning and the sun was out.

After getting himself together, Andre walked around the neighborhood and found himself confronted by Cat.

Cat was standing on the corner of the street and was apparently trying to sell toothpaste flavored cupcakes.

Andre found it strange… wait… he'd been around Cat long enough not to find this weird.

As soon as Cat saw Andre, she ran up to him waving two cupcakes at him.

"Toothpaste Cupcakes!" she yelled, "The minty flavor of toothpaste inside a tasty cupcake! Want one?"

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he decided to just tell her that he had a very large breakfast.

"You look like you haven't been sleeping well." she said, as the both of them walked towards her Toothpaste Cupcake stand, "Still thinking about Jade?"

It felt as if his heart stopped beating and his lungs were being squeezed.

_How did she… When did she… Gotta play this off and act calmly._

Cat continued to look at him as if she was waiting for him to react with a quick lie.

"Are you kidding me? Why would I be thinking about Jade?" he said quickly, "I mean, she's a friend, but c'mon. I don't think about her like that."

Cat began to giggle, "You are such a bad liar. I saw the way you looked at Jade after the two of you hugged last night."

He remembered it too well.

* * *

><p>As Jade and he saw each other, she began to walk towards him and they hugged.<p>

There were other times when they hugged, but something was different about this time.

He could feel how warm she was.

How soft she was.

The noticeable fragrance that she was wearing.

Whatever the factor was, it made him want to hold her close to him and never let her go.

But eventually he knew that he had to. Especially to not draw any attention from those standing near them.

As he pulled away from Jade, he could see that she was smiling at him.

He felt the need to tell her something.

Something.

Anything.

But no word could describe how he was feeling at that moment.

So he remained silent.

* * *

><p>"Yoo-hoo! Andre, are you still there?" asked Cat, waving her hands in his face.<p>

"Oh uh, yeah, it's just something came to my mind." he said, "I have to go. Good luck selling those cupcakes."

As he began to walk off from Cat's cupcake stand, he could hear Cat calling to him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her a thing."

Andre didn't exactly know how to feel about that. But at that moment all he could to do was trust that Cat wouldn't tell Jade a thing.

He had to play it off, of course.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Cat."

Continuing to walk around the neighborhood, he knew there was one person that he needed to talk to.

"Tori."


	2. Is It Just Infatuation?

**Chapter Two: Is It Just Infatuation?**

It was almost noon and Andre found himself heading towards Tori's house.

* * *

><p>He felt as if he was infected with a love sickness and he was once again going to the doctor for a cure.<p>

* * *

><p>Getting herself ready to leave the house, Tori found herself staring at a photo of both Andre and her.<p>

Andre was Tori's best friend and she cared for him very much. Her only problem was that Andre never showed any serious interest in her…

When Tori heard from Andre that he might be in love with Jade, it almost killed her.

_Of all the girls for him to fall in love with, it had to be Jade._ she thought as she looked at the photo.

_After all of our history and… nothing. No feelings in return._

She soon found herself becoming depressed and decided to stop thinking about the possibility of both Andre and Jade together.

* * *

><p>As she opened up the front door, she almost bumped into Andre.<p>

"Oof! Sorry. Didn't see you there." she said, "What are you doing here?"

Andre began to try to put together his explanation, "Well, I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I should come by and visit."

The look on Tori's face instantly told him that she didn't believe a word he said.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"No… truth is…" he began.

Tori knew what was coming. Andre would tell her that he's still in love with Jade and that he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Let's see if she was correct.

* * *

><p>"…I'm in love with you. I was always in love with you. I was misguiding my feelings for you towards Jade. Her singing only reminded me of you." Andre said.<p>

Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing. A huge smile appeared on her face.

"Ever since I first saw you, I only knew one thing: I wanted you. But I was blinding myself, denying my true feelings for you." Andre continued.

He began to walk towards Tori and closed the door behind him. Brushing her hair lightly, he slowly moved his lips towards hers and they kissed.

"I love you, Tori. And I always will." he said, looking deeply in Tori's eyes.

What a cliché.

* * *

><p>Tori was completely speechless of what was going on.<p>

Andre's hand began to move downward and he began to unbutton Tori's shirt.

Both of them could hear each other breathing heavily.

They both knew where things were going, but they would rather let it be a surprise to themselves.

"How about we take this… upstairs?" he asked, with a look of deep interest.

He began to gently rub his hand against her waist. The excitement almost overwhelmed her.

All she could do was smile.

Andre then picked her up and began towards the stairs.

Once they reached her room, Andre continued to slowly take off her clothes and began kissing every inch of her body.

It began to drive her insane… but it was too good to resist.

"Don't stop." she squeaked as she breathed heavily, tensing up more and more until…

* * *

><p>"Tori! Tori! Are you alright?" asked Andre, as he watched Tori leaning against the door and staring at him intensely.<p>

She finally woke up, realizing what was going on.

Andre could see that Tori was blushing bright red, he thought it made her looked cute.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good. I just have… I have to be somewhere, that's all." Tori said hurriedly, walking past Andre.

Andre could tell that there was something wrong with Tori, "Wait up, seriously, tell me what's wrong."

Tori couldn't hold it anymore, she had to ask Andre if he was still thinking about Jade, but not in the sense that it would reveal her feelings for him.

"Are you still thinking about… Jade?" she asked, forcing herself to sound calm.

* * *

><p>You could easily hear the dead silence between the two.<p>

Andre knew the answer… and hated the fact that it was true.

Tori knew the answer as well… and it was killing her.

"Tori… " he paused.

That was all she needed to hear.

She received an answer and didn't like it.

She could feel a tear coming, so she quickly came up with an excuse to leave Andre.

"Look, I really have to go. I'll try to come up with a way to help you later." she said, quickly walking away from Andre and slowly disappearing down the street.

A wise man once said, "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

He obviously didn't know about teen love.

Of all the people whom Andre could talk to, Tori was his number one confidant.

And she had to go off somewhere.

Poor boy… focused on a love he knew was impossible, but ignorant of the one that was always there.

* * *

><p>Feeling even more depressed than ever, Andre continued walking around the neighborhood.<p>

Stopping at various locations, trying to clear his mind.

It was almost 5 o'clock and Andre was sitting out at the beach.

* * *

><p><em>Is it just infatuation?<em> he thought to himself.

He knew this girl for about three years. Give or take a few months.

For as long as he could remember, he never found anything "interesting" about Jade… and by "interesting" he meant "attractive".

Now he wasn't saying that he thought that Jade was ugly back then and pretty now.

No, that was far from it.

What Andre meant was that Jade never seemed like his kind of girl.

You know… great kisser, really pretty, smart, friendly, nice shape, cheerful, a little bit flirty, could range from redheads to brunettes; I think you get the picture now.

But wait… Jade did fit most of this criteria…

She was really pretty, a brunette (months ago, but now she had raven-black hair, which she still looked hot with), smart, had a **very **nice shape and from what he could tell… a great kisser.

Andre only dislike the fact that Jade was… well… scary at times.

There was just something intimidating about Jade, especially when she looked deep in his eyes.

But that wasn't the case when he looked deep in her eyes that night when she was showing him that cute hand trick.

Instead of feeling intimidated, Andre felt… fuzzy.

* * *

><p>"Fuzzy." he said to himself<p>

"Fuzzy? What's fuzzy?" asked a familiar voice.

It was none other than Mr. Sikowitz, standing under a tree.

"Nothing… just nothing." Andre said, standing up.

He began to walk away from the beach, until Sikowitz spoke.

"Coconuts themselves are fuzzy… contains delicious milk, hurt like hell when one falls on your head, but the main reason why I love them is because they give me visions. And when the time calls for it, they make me focus… sometimes."

It was completely silent at that point.

"What exactly are you getting at?" Andre asked.

Sikowitz then reached into his bag and pulled out a coconut.

"Here have one." he said, throwing the coconut at Andre.

"What's this for?" asked Andre, holding the coconut in his hand.

"What's what for?" Sikowitz responded.

"This coconut."

"Oh, I'm just walking around the beach, giving random people coconuts."

"Why?"

"Cause it's Saturday, of course." he said, walking off from the beach and handing a police officer a coconut.

Sikowitz. One very strange fellow.

Andre looked down at the coconut and began thinking.

"Hmm, maybe, just maybe."

As he left the beach, he could see Sikowitz being chased by two police officers.

"Good luck to ya, Sikowitz, good luck to ya."

* * *

><p>Heading back home, Andre took a screwdriver from out of the kitchen drawer and punctured a hole in the coconut.<p>

This had to be one of the craziest things that Andre was about to do… well, maybe second craziest. I mean, after all, he's supposedly in love with Jade.

After pouring the coconut milk into a glass, he then began to drink it.

It tasted alright, he thought.

Slowly he began to focus.

* * *

><p><em>I'm in love with Jade.<em> he continued to think, _Singing my song didn't work as well as I thought._

"Tori's trying to help, but she's busy.

"Cat is selling toothpaste cupcakes."

"Robbie… I'm not even gonna go there."

"Can't bother Beck… can't face him while I'm like this."

* * *

><p>Sighing heavily, Andre knew there was only one person that he had to go to.<p>

As much as he hated it, he knew he had to do it.

"I have to speak to Jade."

"Face to face."


	3. Can't Help Myself

**Chapter Three: Can't Help Myself**

Andre waited until later that night to finally go out on his search for Jade.

_Maybe she's at Jet Brew._ he thought, walking down the heavily lit street.

At this point, Andre was fully focused.

His mind was never clearer than at that moment.

He knew what he had to do.

He had to take the risk.

He had to tell Jade the truth.

He only prayed that her reaction would not destroy his friendship with Beck.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Andre." said a voice behind him.<p>

It was Beck, walking out of Jet Brew and sipping on a large cup of coffee.

_Remain calm._ Andre thought to himself, _Can't afford to make him suspicious._

Andre had to play this off well in order for Beck to remain oblivious of his feelings for Jade.

Let's see how he does.

* * *

><p>"Sup, Beck." Andre responded.<p>

"What'cha doing?"

"Just walking around town… actually I was looking for Jade."

"What do you need her for?"

"I need her to hear a new mix of the song that she helped me with."

"Well, do you have it on a flash drive? Cause I could take it to her."

"Uh… well, I couldn't find a flash drive of mine that actually had room for the song. So I had to save it onto my phone."

"Well, can I hear it?"

"I really wanted Jade to hear it first, so she could help add some new ideas to it. Once the song is perfect, that's when everyone else can hear it."

"Oh… well, Jade recently left to go to this outdoor horror film festival down by the park downtown."

"How come you didn't go with her?"

"Couldn't. Have to help my dad install a new air conditioner into the RV."

"Oh… well… I'll talk to you later."

"Sure…"

Awkward. Seriously awkward.

Both of them began to walk away from each other.

Eventually, Andre wasn't able to see Beck at all.

* * *

><p>With Beck nowhere to be seen, Andre took off running towards downtown.<p>

This was insane.

Mad dashing through the streets, bumping into pedestrians, avoiding oncoming cars and for what?

His best friend's girl.

Andre knew in his heart that this was ridiculous.

He was doing something completely crazy…

But wait… love does make even the sanest person do crazy things.

Or is this infatuation?

Only Andre knew the answer to that.

* * *

><p>After running four blocks straight, Andre was quickly approaching the park where the film festival was.<p>

_Almost there. Almost there._

* * *

><p>Five minutes of running through the streets and he finally arrived at the park.<p>

_Now for the hard part: Finding Jade._ he thought.

Walking throughout the crowd, Andre found it difficult to pinpoint Jade from the rest of the similarly dressed people.

It wasn't until he heard that familiar voice ring through the crowd.

"What do you mean you're sold out?"

"You heard me. We're out of tickets."

"That's bull! The two guys that were in front of me asked if there were any more tickets for their friends and you said there were only 20 left."

"That's your word against mine."

"I can't believe this!"

Andre saw the opportunity to intervene and took it.

"Excuse me, but what's going on here?"

"This insane bitch won't take no for an answer." said the very short ticket vendor.

"I'll show you what a bitch I am!" yelled Jade.

* * *

><p>Blocking Jade from the vendor, Andre then said, "Don't call her a bitch. That's disrespectful… Now do you have extra tickets or not?"<p>

The ticket vendor stared at Andre for a moment and felt intimidated by his muscularly presence.

"Oh, alright! I was lying! We do have more tickets, but I wouldn't sell them because I was planning on selling them to some friends of mine."

"You sick son of a-." said Jade, trying to get around Andre.

"Now was telling the truth so hard?" asked Andre, cutting Jade off and continuing to hold her back.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I won't do it again. It was wrong of me." responded the vendor, who looked frightened.

"Thank you. Now two tickets please." said Andre, as the vendor ripped two tickets from the roll of tickets.

Andre never found himself to be intimidating in any way, but at this moment he felt empowered.

He also found it pretty cool how he refrained from cussing to intimidate someone. It was more of a "sophisticated" version of threatening someone.

He did however felt like blurting out "Now fuck off!" or "Kiss my ass!" but he decided to keep it clean… for now.

After giving Jade the other ticket, Andre leaned over the ticket counter and said, "I hope that this has taught you that lying, calling women "bitches" and being an asshole towards others will get you nowhere. And that if anything like this ever happens again, some very unpleasant things will happen. And don't take it as a threat, no no, consider it a promise yet to be fulfilled."

"Okay. Sorry for the trouble. Enjoy the festival."

* * *

><p>After the intense situation, Andre now faced the horrific challenge that awaited him.<p>

"Hey, I really appreciate what you did. What exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm a lover of horror films. Blood, gore, can't get enough of it."

"No, seriously, why are you here?"

"Um… I came here because I actually had to tell you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

Andre took a deep breath and prepared for the worse.

"Don't take it the wrong way… but… during the past couple of days… I've had a crush on you."

...

"What?"

Jade began walking close to Andre. A feeling of fear began to rush through him.

"You do know that Beck and I have been dating for more than two years?"

"Yeah, but-"

"What kind of idiot are you? I'm dating your best friend and you go ahead and say that to me?"

"No! I didn't mean it that way!"

"And what do you expect me to do? Break up with Beck and go out with you?"

"No! If you would just listen!"

"You asshole! Get away from me!"

"Jade, wait!"

"Don't ever talk to me again!"

* * *

><p>As Jade walked away, Andre felt a deep resentment for what he had done.<p>

His entire friendship with Beck was sure to end due to this and his friendship with Jade was sure to end as well.

Even though Andre wasn't looking for anything serious with Jade, especially since she was dating Beck, Andre still needed to get it off of his chest that he loved Jade.

He was an idiot.

A fool.

What did he expect for her to do?

Admit that she was in love with him from Day One?

Break up with Beck?

Go out with him and live happily ever after?

No.

He didn't…

It was all in his mind…

* * *

><p>Andre found himself standing in front of Jade at the film festival.<p>

He didn't talk to her yet.

And found it hard to form words.

Not surprising to say the least.

Jade was standing there with that curious look on her face.

That really cute, curious look.

"Andre? Is something wrong?"

…

The tension was increasing.

Words were rushing around in his head.

Out of all of the millions that were there, three simple yet complex words blurted out.

He couldn't help himself.

"I love you."


	4. Not Bad At All

**Chapter Four: Not Bad At All**

What could be said about this?

A guy blurts out that he loves a girl who's already taken.

What exactly happens next?

The girl could admit to the boy that she loves him and that she'll break up with her boyfriend.

Unlikely.

The girl could call the boy an asshole and ask that he never talk to her ever again.

Also unlikely.

I know, it's hard to believe, too.

Or the girl could kill the boy right then and there with a pair of scissors that was concealed behind her belt.

You know, for bringing all of this bullshit into her life.

But that too was unlikely.

So what the hell is going to happen?

It's time we find out…

* * *

><p>Andre stood there, speechless at what he had just uttered.<p>

Jade stood there, speechless at what she had heard.

This was it, Andre knew that it was only going to go downhill from here.

It was only a matter of who spoke first…

"What did you just say?" asked Jade.

…

Andre stood frozen.

Tired of waiting for him to answer, Jade pulled Andre behind a vendor stand for some privacy.

"Did you just say… that you love me?" she asked again.

…

"Talk… Now…" she said forcefully.

Jade didn't necessarily look like she was angry at him, but more in a sense of being tired of his inability to talk.

"Yes… I did say… that I love you." Andre said hesitantly.

"Andre…" Jade muttered, but stopped because of a loss for words.

"Jade… look… I know that you and Beck are together, and it's not like I'm hoping that you'll break up with him… I just needed to get it off of my chest… It was driving me crazy… And was also the reason why I was acting so weird the past couple of days." Andre quickly said, trying to get everything out into the open as quickly as possible.

At that moment, Jade's eyes opened up slightly.

"That song! I knew it! That song was meant for me. I thought it was sorta strange how you kept looking at me, but…" she said, stopping for a second.

"I had thought that by singing my song, to everyone including you, would help me get rid of these feelings. Although I did had to switch your name with "baby", that way no one would have been suspicious." Andre said, feeling as if all the pressure was starting to lift off of him.

"Wow…" said Jade, stopping again, "When did… you know… this all started?"

"The night that you helped me with my song. When you were singing… you just looked so beautiful. It was as if you were a different Jade." said Andre, staring deep in Jade's eyes, "And it wasn't just the fact that you looked beautiful that night, it was also how harmonious your voice was and how kind and sweet you were."

Jade stood there for a moment.

She never seen Andre in this type of position before.

She knew that there was something funny about Andre's behavior the past couple of days, but was she really blind of the fact that he liked her?

At the moment, that didn't really matter.

She knew the truth now and that was all that matters.

But little did Andre know… Jade also had a little secret of her own.

"Alright… I'll admit it… I kinda had a small crush on you, too… A "small" one." she said.

Deep down in Andre's heart, millions upon millions of tiny fireworks were going off.

_A small crush! Hot damn!_ he thought joyously,_ Calm down, Andre, calm down. Don't get too excited._

But then something unexpectedly happened.

The two of them stood there, waiting for the other to respond.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until Jade responded that things got "interesting".<p>

"Oh, fuck it!" said Jade, as she walked up to Andre and kissed him passionately on the lips.

Andre found it rather difficult to keep his raging hormones from continuing to kiss Jade.

But Andre felt different after awhile.

_I need to stop this. This isn't right._ thought Andre, as Jade pushed him against the wall of the park bathroom that was behind them.

But he kept going on with it.

He didn't care about Beck.

_Who the hell was Beck?_

* * *

><p>"How about we take this to somewhere more private." said Jade, as she pulled Andre behind one of the projection screens.<p>

Andre couldn't say "no" to a girl as smoking hot as Jade.

The chance was presented to him and he went ahead and took it.

"I like the way you're thinking." said Andre, allowing himself to be guided by Jade.

Lucky for them, there was an empty equipment tent with just enough room for the two of them.

Entering the tent, Jade pushed Andre onto the ground and slowly began taking off her jacket.

"Things are about to get… very… exciting." she said, closing the tent.

* * *

><p>Andre never knew that Jade would feel soooooo good.<p>

Every time he went inside her, she made the cutest little squeak that just drove Andre insane.

Jade loved the fact that Andre's muscular arms were wrapped around her waist, caressing those insane curves of hers.

Each thrust felt so damn good to Jade that she wanted to scream.

Andre could see how Jade's pale skin was quickly turning bright red.

It drove him to keep going and going. Harder and harder. Faster and faster.

The more and more he kept going, the more and more she was closer to screaming.

"Oh! Fuck! Don't stop!" she yells, knowing how she's almost close to her peak, "Please don't stop!"

Andre gave it his all.

Going ever harder… much harder and faster… much faster than before.

He wanted to hear that scream.

And she was gonna give it to him.

"Come on! Come on!" he yelled, holding Jade in his arms and continuing to go at it.

Then it happened…

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! Fuuuuuuuuuucccck!" she screamed intensely, as she dug her fingernails into his shoulders.

The scream was so piercingly loud, Andre knew that the audience outside would know that there was something going on back here.

But then again... it was a horror film festival, so there would bound to be some screaming somewhere.

So he didn't care.

He was too busy with Jade.

He kept going at her.

It was far from over for him.

He could slowly feeling himself building up more and more until…

* * *

><p>"Andre! Are you alright?"<p>

Andre woke up.

I know… it sucks. All that intensity and it turned out to be a dream… again.

"Andre, can you hear me?" said Jade, snapping her fingers in his face.

"Yeah, sorry, I kinda blanked out." Andre said, moving off of the vendor stand.

Jade sighed and continued with what she was saying, "Look, yes, it's true. I do have a small crush on you. But remember, I'm still with Beck and that's how it gonna be."

Andre felt both relived and saddened that Jade said this.

"At least the truth is out for the both of us. Now I can start to act normal again and actually get some sleep at night." Andre said jokingly.

"Sorry that I kinda… in a way… put you through all of that torture. I mean, I like torturing people, but I didn't mean to torture you unintentionally." Jade laughed, "And for what it's worth, if Beck and me weren't together… I would definitely going out with you."

A smile appeared on both Andre and Jade's face.

"I must say this: If we were together, I would have definitely drove you outta your mind." said Jade, laughing.

"Oh, really?" Andre joked.

"Really." Jade said, with a intense, yet sexy gaze

"So… you wanna go get some good seats to watch the movies?"

"Sure… why not?" said Jade, "Hopefully you won't run off screaming in terror."

"I don't know about that." said Andre, "I can handle a simple horror movie."

* * *

><p>Wait a damn minute.<p>

Things were ending too happy-go-lucky.

Andre just had an intense dream about Jade.

And he didn't even consider Beck's feelings.

So if Jade really did try to seduce him, would he have really had sex with her?

Let's hear from him.

* * *

><p><em>It was just a dream, I have no control of myself in a dream. If she really would have tried to seduce me, I would have done the right thing." he thought, "I may have been lovesick about Jade, but I'm not crazy enough to ruin my friendship with Beck.<em>

Well… I guess that answers that…

* * *

><p>Both Andre and Jade watched the horror films and enjoyed the rest of the night.<p>

After walking Jade back to her house, Jade had one final thing to say.

"I had fun tonight, even after all of the secrets that came out."

"I know… at least it all over now. I can now focus on other girls now. Especially Northridge girls."

"Yeah, well… you know, you're too good to be chasing after silly girls out there. You're more… Tori's type."

"Tori? Really?"

"Yeah… Even thought she can be soooooo annoying at time and is a real goodie-goodie, she can be alright at times." Jade said, swallowing hard, "Plus she'll be sorta alright for you.

"Hmm, glad that you care about me so much."

"Yeah, I do."

Jade then walked up to Andre and hugged him.

But before she let him go, she gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek.

"Uh, Jade…?"

Jade quickly pulled away and opened up her front door.

"Even though we know the truth about each other, don't be expecting that I'll take things easier on you. Got it?"

"Yeah… sure."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>After Jade shut her door, Andre began walking down the sidewalk.<p>

_At least it's all over. My feelings have been heard. I'm not going crazy. And something could possibly happen with Jade and me sometime in the future… if her and Beck ever broke up._

It was a very great night for Andre.

But then he remembered something…

"Tori! I need to call her later tonight." he said, running towards home.

* * *

><p>Halfway home, Andre bumped into Cat.<p>

"Sorry, Cat, I was rushing home."

"It's okay, guess what?"

"What?"

"My toothpaste cupcakes were a huge success, if I make anymore money, I can finally achieve one of my dreams: To ride in a giant cupcake."

"Good for you…"

"So how did it go with Jade." said Cat, giggling.

"Oh, you know… same old, same old."

"Oh, okay. Talk to you later!" said Cat, winking repeatedly and walking backwards towards her house.

"Bye, Cat. You might wanna turn around before you hit that-"

But it was too late, she fell over the lawn gnome in her yard.

"I'm okay!"

"Good night, Cat!"

"Goodnight! Oh! It's cozy down here."

* * *

><p>Back at Jade's house, she had just got out of a conversation with Beck about listening to Andre's new song.<p>

She had no idea what he was talking about, but played along with it anyway.

But that wasn't on her mind right now.

Andre was.

_Maybe… just maybe… No! I can't! I have to keep these feelings to myself. That's why it's best that I make him focus on Tori right now. It'll make things easier on the both of us… I hope._

In Jade's mind, she thought about the possibility of one day, her and Andre getting together.

She only had one thing to say about this…

_It wouldn't be that bad… in fact, not bad at all._


	5. Three Missed Calls

**Chapter Five: Three Missed Calls**

It was the beginning of the Christmas season.

Christmas cheer was in the air.

Shoppers were maxing out their credit cards.

Carolers were singing repetitive songs.

And Andre Harris was in his Creative Music class.

Where he'd just found out that he had to write catchy Christmas song for a grade.

* * *

><p>But was this the most important thing on his mind?<p>

Not at all.

As a matter of fact, Andre had two things on his mind.

Jade West

And

Tori Vega

These two have been up to a lot of things during the past couple of weeks.

But you'll find out more about that later...

* * *

><p>Ever since Jade told Andre that Tori seemed more like his type of girl, his mind seemed to wander on whether or not something could happen between the two.<p>

For as long as he had known it, he had always considered Tori as a friend.

Well… a really cute friend with the most adorable cheekbones.

But there was something even more attracting about her.

She was a brunette.

She had a **very **nice shape (for a very slim girl).

She was really friendly.

Extremely pretty.

Intelligent.

So why the hell didn't he ever try to make a move?

Once again, he only saw her as a friend… until now.

And he always felt that it was obvious that she thought of him as only a friend as well.

He was wrong unfortunately, and found this out several weeks ago when he called Tori late one night.

* * *

><p>After spending the evening watching a horror movie marathon with Jade, Andre finally made it back home.<p>

To his dismay, he found himself locked out of the house.

His grandma just had to pick this weekend to stay at the house.

_Great, just great._

"Grandma! Open up the door! It's me, Andre!"

"That's a lie! Andre been in his room all day!"

"Grandma, I've been gone ever since 6. Now can you please open up the door?"

"No! That raccoon been out there all day long. He just waiting to come in here!"

"Raccoon? What raccoon?"

"The one that's been standing by the garage!"

Looking towards the garage, Andre saw no raccoon, but rather a soccer ball instead.

A soccer ball.

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Andre picked up the soccer ball and hid it in the bushes, so that his grandma wouldn't be able to see it anymore.

"The raccoon is gone now!"

He could then see his grandma looking out of the window at the garage and then unlocking all of the deadbolts on the door.

"Thank you." said Andre, as he headed towards his room.

* * *

><p>He had an important call to make.<p>

After calling Tori three times and being sent to voicemail, Andre decided to give up and just laid there in his bed.

It was strange.

For as long as he had known Tori, she has always answered his calls.

It was almost as if she was waiting by the phone for him to call or something.

But now, she didn't answer at all.

"She busy, that's all." said Andre, unsure of the situation.

I mean after all, this is the girl that answered his texts around 3 in the morning.

* * *

><p>Andre laid there and began thinking of what Jade told him earlier.<p>

_Am I actually over Jade? What if it turns out that Tori and I are only "friends"?_

These questions riddled Andre.

That son of a bitch.

He resolved one problem and created two more.

He wondered if whether both Tori and him could be more than friends.

And

He wondered if he was really over Jade.

Andre was having one hell of a night.

And it was about to get even stranger.

* * *

><p>Tori was laying in her bed.<p>

Her eyes were focused on the cell phone that she held over her head.

**Three Missed Calls**

She knew who it was that had called, but she was afraid of what they would say.

All she could picture was Andre and Jade making out in his room.

It made her sick.

But she knew that if she didn't find out what he had to tell her now, she'll never be able to live it down.

She sped dialed his number.

Within three seconds, he answered.

* * *

><p>"Tori!"<p>

"Yes, what is it?" said Tori, using on her best sleepy voice.

"I told her."

"You what?"

"I told Jade how I felt."

"…..And what did she say?"

"She said she had a tiny crush on me too."

Tori's heart sank. She had lost him.

"Oh…"

"But she's still gonna be with Beck. No cheating at all."

At hearing this, Tori felt slightly better. But still cautious of what she was hearing.

She could trust that Andre wouldn't cheat with Jade…

But Jade….

Tori didn't trust her at all.

* * *

><p>Andre continued the conversation by telling Tori all of what happened that day, excluding the "steamy" daydream and the kiss from Jade.<p>

He didn't necessarily know how Tori would react to that.

I mean, could you blame him?

"But at the end… Jade made me think of something."

"Really? What?"

"Tori… have you… every consider the fact of us…"

* * *

><p>Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing.<p>

Andre Harris was about to ask her about the possibility of them dating.

In her mind, she felt the need to just scream "Yes!"

But then something hit her,_ Jade made Andre consider the fact of us being together. For as long as I've known him, he has never made a move on his own… And now because Jade tells him to, he now wants to ask me out?!_

Tori never thought she would feel like this.

Both delighted and disgusted by what Andre was saying.

But the guy whom she was head over heels for was about ask her out.

She couldn't say no.

And yet the thought of Jade just wouldn't leave her alone.

She felt as if this was Jade's greatest scheme ever.

Tori only knew one thing: She didn't want Andre to go out with her because Jade told him to.

She wanted him to ask her out because **he** wanted to.

* * *

><p>"…going out together?" asked Andre.<p>

"Yes."

"Well, I was wondering if… maybe sometime next week, we maybe could go out on a real date."

….

"So….. Do you wanna go out…. With me?"

The silence was deafening, it was only broken by Tori's tearful voice.

"No… I can't."


	6. All To Myself

**Chapter Six: All To Myself**

Neither one of them could believe what had happened.

Andre thought that Tori didn't really understand what he was asking her.

"Uh, I asked if you wanted to go out next week on a real date."

"I heard you… but I can't go out with you next week."

Andre felt awkward; Tori had just said that she could possibly see the two of them being together and yet she doesn't want to go out with him?

"Is something wrong?" he asked, deeply concerned.

* * *

><p>How could she do this?<p>

She loved him.

She knew this.

But she didn't want to be with Andre…

Unless **he **wanted to be with her, not because Jade suggested it.

She wanted to be with Andre on terms where Jade is nothing but a friend to him.

And right now, she knew that Jade was still on Andre's mind.

He just didn't have the nerve to tell her.

* * *

><p>"No… nothing's wrong. It's just that… I'm seeing someone." she blurted.<p>

"Oh… okay… good for you…" said Andre, slowly, "He's a… lucky guy."

"Yeah… he is…" said Tori, trying to hold back her tears, "Look, I've got to get up early, so I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye."

She quickly hung up the phone, leaving Andre to only wonder about what had happened.

* * *

><p>He laid there thinking. Just thinking.<p>

_What the hell had just happened?_

He wasn't surprised by the fact that Tori was already dating someone.

He was surprised by how quickly his mind stopped focusing on Jade.

For the past three days, his mind had been thinking about Jade nonstop. But for those five minutes that he was on the phone with Tori…

It all vanished.

Andre didn't know whether or not he was really in love with Jade or… if he was starting to develop feelings for Tori.

But wait… he just started thinking about Tori because of Jade's advice where she said that Tori and him would look great as a couple.

So who's not to say that Andre was acting on his feelings for Jade, by listening to her?

And who's not to say that maybe he was trying to make himself like Tori more than a friend, just so he can forget about Jade?

Things just went from messed up to fucked up for the life of Andre Harris.

* * *

><p>It was 3 a.m.<p>

Jade West was quickly drifting to sleep. Her was PearPod playing _365 Days _on loop. She'd never quite enjoyed listening to a song like this before.

After all, she had recently found out that the song was really about her…

But in a good way, not one of those "You broke my heart, so I'm gonna embarrass you with this song" song.

_** …Tuesday, I wrote you this song. Wednesday, I wait outside your door. Even though I know it's wrong… **_

Jade felt different that night. Usually if a guy, who wasn't her boyfriend, wrote her a song, she'd glue their fingers together and tie them to a flagpole with a sign that read "Worst Songwriter Ever."

* * *

><p>She has actually done this. I'm not even kidding.<p>

* * *

><p>But with Andre, that wasn't the cast. Ever since he admitted his feelings for Jade earlier that night, she had been thinking about him more than usual.<p>

Of course, she did know that she already had a great, loving boyfriend, but…

She just couldn't stop thinking about Andre.

_** …I want you all to myself. (All to myself)… **_

She slowly began to go to sleep. The song still playing on loop.

Her mind still on Andre…

* * *

><p><strong>BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!<strong>

Somebody was pounding on the door.

"Whaaaaat?!" Jade said, aggravated to be awoken.

"Jade, you have a visitor!" said Jade's mom, who continued to bang on the door.

"If it's Tori, tell her to leave. If it's Robbie, call the police. If it's Cat…"

"No, it's Andre."

Jade quickly jumped out of the bed and ran to the mirror.

Her hair was completely tangled.

Her black and blue colored nightwear had tears in them from overuse.

And she had a bit of drool on her lip which she quickly wiped away.

"Ah, I look great." she said to herself, as she turned off her PearPod and went to open the door.

Jade's mom and Andre stood there, both with a look of surprise by how she looked.

"Hi, Jade… you look… wonderful." said Andre, who was trying to find the right words.

"Jade, I seriously need to get rid of all of those torn up clothes that you love to keep." said her mom, looking upset at what she was wearing, "You'll so pretty in a nice pink or yellow."

"Do you seriously want me to hurl?" asked Jade, as she leaned against the door frame.

"Why do I even try?" said her mom, as she walked down the stairs leaving Andre and Jade by themselves, "I'm going to work, so remember to lock up when I leave."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." said Jade, without much care.

"And don't forget that your brother is next door!" her mother yelled from the kitchen.

"Alright, already! God."

The sound of the back door slamming could be heard and then it was quiet.

Jade then motioned to Andre to come into her room.

* * *

><p>"So… what did you come here for?" she asked.<p>

"Uh… I came here to… tell you thanks for helping me with my song." Andre said hesitantly, sitting in the nearest chair.

Jade knew he was lying. Why would he come over to the house, at 10 in the morning, just to tell her thanks?

There was something else he wasn't telling her.

"Stop that." she said.

"Stop what?"

"Lying about why you're really here."

"You could easily tell, couldn't you?"

"You're not a good liar and you're not good at hiding your feelings. So, yeah, I could easily tell." she said, with a smile.

Andre stood up and began pacing around the room.

Jade realized that this must have been something really serious or else he would have told her already.

"Andre sit down, okay." she said, grabbing Andre's arm and making him sit on the bed, "Now… tell me what you have to tell me."

Andre took a deep breath and looked deep in Jade's eyes.

"Jade… you know that I like you… a lot, and I know that you think that Tori and me are perfect together, but… I can't picture myself with anyone else." he said, as he held Jade's hand.

Jade just sat there, unprepared for what she was about to hear.

She didn't know what was going on and at the same time, she didn't care.

The girl was at ease. A soothing feeling overtaking her. She questioned nothing, rather await for the moment to reveal itself.

"Jade… I don't care about Tori and I don't care about Beck," said Andre, becoming more at ease, "I want you… all to myself. No one else, just me and you."

Jade didn't know what was going through her mind. It was as if a spark was ignited and she had no control over the flames that were growing.

Jade quickly leapt towards Andre and began kissing him. Did she care that what she was doing was wrong? Absolutely not.

Did he care that what he was doing was immoral. Nope, not at all.

The two continued kissing one other, grabbing each other's hair, touching one another. They didn't want this to end.

Jade then got up from the bed and locked her room door.

"Mom's going to work and my brother's at his friend's house." she said, as she jumped back on the bed and on top of Andre, "Ready to keep this going?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Andre said, as the two of them began kissing again.

* * *

><p>Slowly the two began taking off each other's clothes.<p>

The excitement between them was insane.

They knew they were wrong. They knew it.

Yet they still kept going.

While Jade was laying on top of Andre and kissing him on the neck, Andre said to her, "Let me go first."

He quickly flipped Jade on her back and began kissing her. Slowly he moved down her body and kissed ever inch of it.

It drove her insane, he was so good at teasing her.

_Much better than Beck_

It got even more exciting once Andre went inside of her, the penetrating feeling sent chills down her spine.

She gripped her pillow tightly, as she let out a sexy moan and threw her head back.

* * *

><p>"…Andre…" she said, as she sat up… only to realize that she had been dreaming.<p>

"What the hell?" she said, as she noticed that she was breathing hard and sweating a lot.

She was **sweating**…

**Sweating**…

Because of a dream she had about Andre.

"This can't be happening. No, this cannot be happening!" she said, as she got up and turned off the PearPod.

She stood there looking at the silent PearPod. The song still playing in her head.

** _I want you all to myself. **_

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Fuck!" she yelled, as she threw her PearPod at the wall, "Great, now I have to get a new one."

* * *

><p>Jade was afraid.<p>

Her once tiny feelings for Andre, have now exploded into something uncontrollable.

As she laid down on the floor and cried softly, she knew things were now more complicated than ever.

**_Here lies a girl, afraid of her feelings. Unable to decide, where her heart truly lies. _**


	7. Remember That Day

**Chapter Seven: Remember That Day**

She laid there.

What could she obviously do?

Everything was confusing now.

She never thought that it would escalate to this.

The girl was losing her way.

* * *

><p>It had just turn 5 a.m.<p>

Jade West had just experience something she considered horrifying.

She just had a very **passionate** dream about Andre Harris.

Something that has never happened before…

But that wasn't what was troubling her. What was scaring her was the fact that she enjoyed the dream… even to the point where she moaned Andre's name as she woke up.

How could she ever look at Andre the same way after she had this dream?

How could she look at Beck the same way after this?

* * *

><p>"You're in love with Beck, not Andre." whispered Jade, as she got off the floor, "Andre's just a friend. Only a friend."<p>

Jade had to find something to get these thoughts out of her head. Something. Anything. Just to get keep her mind off of… _him._

As Jade went through her movie collection, she came across one of favorites: _My Sweet Sixteenth Massacre._

After watching the first fifteen minutes of the movie, Jade began to find herself quite relaxed.

_So far, so good._ she thought, as the gym teacher in the movie was killed and left hanging from the basketball court's basket.

As time went by, Jade began to get sleepy, yet she quickly decided that she needed to stay awake.

"I need some coffee." she said, making her way to the kitchen.

A cup of coffee was one of the greatest things to ever exist on this planet. She didn't know why she loved it, but she loved it.

As she waited for the coffee to be done, a thought popped into her mind.

_Why am I now, starting to like Andre… more than a friend?_ Jade thought, leaning against the counter.

Andre was only a good friend, whom rarely annoyed her.

Yes, it was true that Jade did have a _small _crush on Andre, but that was it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But where did it all started?

* * *

><p>Once the coffee was done, Jade went back to her room, where she saw that someone had text her while she was gone.<p>

It was Beck.

_{Leaving early this morning, to go to Vancouver with the family. Cousin's birthday. Won't be back till Tuesday night. Love You.}_

_Must have been in a rush to not call._

But something else came to her mind from the text.

_Beck's 14th birthday party._

She remember that day all too well…

It was the first time she had met Andre Harris.

* * *

><p>It was a Friday afternoon. Sunny, with a gentle breeze every now and then.<p>

Jade West was on her way to her boyfriend, Beck Oliver's house.

The two have been together for about a month and today was his 14th birthday.

Jade hated birthday parties, especially going to one. But for her new boyfriend she made an exception.

Another reason why she was willing to go was because of all the girls who would be flirting with Beck at his party.

Beck was very easy on the eyes and Jade knew that most girls wouldn't take into consideration that "He has a girlfriend" meant "He's off limits."

But she couldn't worry about that right now, she had to focus on trying to remember how to get to his house.

_Was it make a right at the gas station, then go three blocks? Or was it, go straight pass the gas station, then go three blocks?_ she thought, confused on where she was going.

"I'll just call him." said Jade, as she dialed Beck's number on her Pear Phone.

After waiting for a minute and receiving no answer, Jade hung up and decided to just go straight pass the gas station.

It didn't take long for her to see that she chose the right way. She began to see other kids with presents going down the street.

Eventually the group grew to the size of a large crowd; Jade knew that Beck was popular, but she didn't now he was _this_ popular.

* * *

><p>Jade and the others finally reached Beck's house after three minutes of walking.<p>

But before Jade got the chance to even walk through the front door, a guy with dreads rushed into her and caused her to fall.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." said the guy, "Are you alright?"

Jade, picking herself up from the ground, thought that the guy was being sarcastic.

"Jerk! Watch where the hell you're going!" she said, as she shoved the guy into the bushes.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" asked the guy, "I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I care." responded Jade, walking into the house.

* * *

><p>There were so many people at this party, a majority of them Jade didn't even know.<p>

After awhile, Jade began to think that she would never be able to find her boyfriend.

"Jade! Over here!" yelled Beck, who was outside by the pool.

_Thank goodness, I finally found him._ she thought, making her way through the crowd.

Beck was talking with some friends, when Jade walked up.

"Glad that you made it." he said, as he hugged and kissed her, "Jade, these are my two friends, Mark and Brian."

The two guys named Mark and Brian just stood there and stared at Jade. Probably thinking that she was the most weirdest looking girl that they've ever seen.

"I thought you said you have a girlfriend, not a… whatever that is." said Mark, laughing.

"Yeah, I didn't know you lowered your standards and chose to go out with the Blair Witch over here." laughed Brian.

"Hey, that's enough. I don't ever crack any jokes about any of your girls." said Beck, getting defensive.

"That's because none of our girlfriends are freaky looking." said Mark, as Brian and him continued to laugh.

"It's alright, Beck. I'm pretty sure that the stray dogs and cats that date these two are ten times prettier than I am." Jade said sarcastically. "Speaking of which, aren't the two of you late for your dates at the animal shelter?"

Both Mark and Brian began to get angry. They both looked as if they were coming up with a quick remark, but the two then decided to just leave.

"Bitch!" muttered Brian, as they left.

"Don't listen to those jerks. Any real friend of mine would see that you're beautiful, no matter what." said Beck, as he once again kissed Jade.

At that moment, Beck's dad walked up to the two of them.

"Hello... Jade. Uh, Beck, your grandparents are on the phone." he said, as he looked uncomfortably at Jade.

It was probably because the last time that Jade was at their house, their dinner was ruined by Jade's constant talk of blood and gore and their friendly game of _Life _was turned into a discussion about how life always ends in death and how they might as well get use to the idea.

"Oh, okay. Jade, I'll be right back." said Beck, as he left to go back in the house.

* * *

><p>While Jade walked around the area, she noticed that both Mark and Brian were following her.<p>

"What the hell do you two want?" she asked, turning around to face them.

"Oh, not much." said Brian.

"Just one question. Can you swim?" asked Mark.

"Of course I can… I just don't like being in the water is all." said Jade, turning around to leave.

Without warning, Mark and Brian ran up behind Jade, picked her up and threw her into the pool.

The rest of the party crowd suddenly riled up in laughter, not one of the partygoers even try to help Jade get out of the pool.

She hated being in that pool. She didn't like that feeling of being wet while fully clothe. She just felt… like a mess.

_Ugh, those… bastards!_ she thought, as she swam to get out of the pool.

Even though Jade had a tough exterior, deep down inside she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

_I knew I shouldn't have come to this party._ she though, as she tried to get out of the pool, _It was a big, **big** mistake._

"No, no, no. You're gonna stay right there and swim for us." said Mark, trying to step on Jade's fingers.

"That's right, bitch! You're gonna…" started Brian, as someone pushed them into the pool.

_Oh, it's Beck._

But it wasn't Beck. Beck was still in the house on the phone.

This guy was nothing like Beck.

This guy had dreads.

"You!" yelled Jade.

"Yeah... it's me." said the guy, with a smile.


	8. Lovely Once You Get To Know Her

**Chapter Eight: Lovely Once You Get To Know Her**

"I don't need your help." muttered Jade, pulling herself out of the pool.

The guy with dreads simply smiled and said, "Sure, I could tell from how you ended up in the pool that things were going your way."

"Stop being such a smart ass." snapped Jade, frustrated at how things were going, "Get out of the way, I need to go dry off."

At saying that, she rushed past the guy and made her way back into the house.

* * *

><p>Even though she was soaking wet, Jade still didn't want anyone to see her tearing up.<p>

As she ran into the bathroom, she quickly locked the door and slowly began to cry.

What exactly was going on with Jade?

She was the girl that didn't take "No" for an answer.

The girl that no one wanted to piss off.

The girl with the tough exterior…

Exterior…

Outside…

To the naked eye, that's all that could be seen.

A girl that didn't let anything trouble her.

But the girl on the inside, now that was a different story.

After calming herself down, Jade took off her clothes, wrung them dry and hung them from the shower curtain rack.

Luckily, she found a bathrobe to wear while her clothes dried.

_This is ridiculous!_ _There's no way I can go back out there… Not after that._

* * *

><p>She slowly began to cry when suddenly…<p>

_**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!**_

Jade seriously wasn't in the mood to be bothered.

"Fuck off!" she yelled, hoping that the person would walk away.

But they weren't going to.

**_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!_**

Sighing heavily, Jade ripped opened the door.

"Do you not know the meaning of "fuck off…"?

But something stopped her.

The presence of the guy with dreads bothered Jade.

She didn't know whether she was bother because he was the one knocking on the door.

Or because she was kind of hoping that he would show up.

**No!** Not in that way that you are thinking of right now!

(Girl completely naked under bathrobe + Already in a relationship) + (Teenage boy with raging hormones + Is a complete stranger) = **NOT GOOD!**

Let's see exactly where this is going.

* * *

><p>"Look, before you yell at me; I just have to say that I'm sorry." said the guy with dreads, in a serious tone, "I just saw a <em>pretty<em> girl who was minding her own business and being bothered by two jerks. I felt the need to help, regardless of how she felt of me."

This was completely unexpected.

Jade didn't see this coming.

You see, during the time that Jade was crying, she was also reminded about how while everyone else was laughing at her when she was thrown into the pool; this guy was the only one who was willing to help her.

"Um… Look… you don't have to apologize." said Jade, swallowing her pride, "I shouldn't have lashed out at you… I was angry and…"

"I get it. You rather defend yourself, rather than let someone else protect you." said the guy with dreads, with a sense of understanding that astonished Jade, "I embarrassed you even more, didn't I?"

"A little. But I still shouldn't have said all of that to you. You were trying to help me. Took me a while to appreciate it."

This made the guy with dreads smile.

"For what it's worth, even if I knew that I would embarrass you... I would have still helped you."

"Why?"

The guy smiled again. With a slight blush on his face. Quickly, he turned away and said, "Oh, never mind."

Jade could tell that he was lying.

The constant smiling. The slight blushing. Calling her a "pretty girl". Ignoring explaining his other reason for helping her.

It could only mean one thing.

"Look… I'm flattered, but I have a…"

"Boyfriend. I already know."

"You already know?"

"Yeah… he's actually my best friend."

The guy with dreads began to look guilty.

But it quickly disappeared.

"That's the other reason why I helped you." he continued, "I knew that you were Beck's girlfriend."

Well, that explains a lot. Doesn't it? There can't possibly be any other reason for him to help her. Isn't there?

"Oh…" said Jade, trying to move the conversation along, "You never told me your name."

"Sorry bout that. The name's Andre Harris." replied the guy with dreads, holding out his hand.

"Jade West… and I don't know why I said that, you already know my name" said Jade, as she shook Andre's hand and smiled.

It was odd. It was but five minutes ago that this girl was crying and now look at her! She was calm and smiling...

And it was all thanks to this guy's help. But something kept nipping at Jade.

Even though Andre explained his reasons for what he did; Jade still felt that there was something else.

A part of her wanted to find out, while the other wanted to leave things as they were.

In the end, she decided that there were more important things to worry about; like how she was going to dry her clothes.

"Uh... Andre, it was nice meeting you, but I have to find a way to dry my clothes. You know, those soaking wet ones?" said Jade, gesturing towards the clothes on the rack.

"Why don't you take those to the dryer?" asked Andre, "It's on the other side of the house, so no one will see you in a bathrobe."

"Thanks." said Jade, as she gathered up her still damped clothes and followed Andre.

* * *

><p>As they both walked through the empty side of the house, Jade thought of how things were going.<p>

She found it strange that at one point things were going horrible and almost immediately when this guy arrives, things get better.

Kinda like her own knight in shining armor.

_A really cute knight with dreads._

This thought made Jade laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Andre, as he opened up the door to the laundry room.

"Nothing… uh, are you sure that it's okay for me to use their dryer?" asked Jade.

"Sure, trust me."

Trust…

One word that Jade West had trouble with.

Yet here she was… trusting a stranger… well, he was her boyfriend's best friend, but a stranger nonetheless.

But that wasn't what was out of the ordinary.

* * *

><p>For the next 15 minutes, Jade and Andre spent the time talking, just talking.<p>

Lost deep in their conversation and forgetting their reason for being there, the two were enjoying themselves more than if they were with the rest of the party-goers.

"That's sick! That's really sick!" laughed Andre, reacting to Jade's story of the paperboy that made the mistake of trying to flirt with her.

"I tried to warn him. It's not like I meant to do it on purpose… okay, maybe I did." said Jade, seriously enjoying herself.

She then noticed that the dryer had stopped.

"Finally." Jade said, taking her now warm and dry clothes out of the dryer.

"I should leave you to… you know… get yourself together." said Andre, as he began to leave Jade to put on her clothes.

But something stopped him.

"Wait!"

Andre turned around to see Jade walking towards him.

She seemed hesitant. Almost as if she was trying to calm herself.

"Thank you, for everything." said Jade, holding out her hand.

"No problem." Andre replied, shaking her hand.

After letting go, Jade said "I guess I'll be seeing you later."

"Yeah… I guess so."

* * *

><p>After Jade closed the laundry room door, Andre went back to the party.<p>

Not really paying attention to anything around him, he bumped into Beck.

"Hey! Watch where yo-. Oh, hey, nice to see that you made it!" said Beck, who was surrounded by three dim-looking girls.

"You know I wouldn't miss your birthday." laughed Andre, as the two hugged, "Who are they?"

"Oh, this is Becca, Lucy, and Tia." answered Beck, as he gestured towards the redhead, the blonde, and the brunette, "Becca came all the way from St. Louis, while Lucy and Tia came from Atlanta and Pittsburgh."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew people that far out." Andre said, astonished.

"I don't. They somehow found out about this party." said Beck, "But anyway, I've been meaning to introduce you to Jade."

"Oh, I've already met her." said Andre, trying to exclude most of what happened, "She's very edgy… but also really lovely."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the party, Andre couldn't focus on anyone else but Jade.<p>

She was unique, not like any of the boring girls that he had encountered before.

If it wasn't for the fact that his best friend was already dating her, he would have _definitely _asked her out.

* * *

><p>After that party, Andre continued to have feelings for Jade... but as the years went by, he slowly repressed these thoughts and memories until... until that night in the recording studio.<p>

That one eventful night where that _side _of Jade returned.

That cute, gentle, alluring side that she rarely showed anyone else.

He missed that about Jade.

But she had such a knack for hiding that aspect of her.

Almost as if she was a shame of it.

But the point of the matter was that Andre was frustrated that Jade was taken.

The _perfect _girl, in his opinion, was with someone else.

But that's usually how these situations go.

* * *

><p>"The good ones are always taken." sighed Andre, as he laid in his bed.<p>

It was 5:23 a.m.

Three days had pass since his confession to Jade.

And Andre had just woken up from dreaming about when he first met Jade.

_This is Hell._ he thought, as his mind was still torn between Tori and Jade.

Reaching for his phone, he saw that both of them had left him a message.

He placed the phone back on his desk and stared at the ceiling. Unable to check the messages.


	9. What If That Day Never Comes?

**Chapter Nine: What If That Day Never Comes?**

It was 2:23 in the afternoon.

Andre Harris woke up groggily to the sunlight that was seeping through the window.

"Didn't mean to sleep for that long." he thought, as he got up out of bed.

Looking at his cell, he saw that both Tori and Jade left him two more messages.

He sighed.

Not knowing what to do with the situation.

* * *

><p>After taking a shower and getting dressed, Andre decided that it was time to listen to the messages.<p>

"Might as well listen to Tori's messages first." he said, scrolling through his phone.

_{You have 6 messages: First message…}_

_{Umm… Look… when you get the chance… call me okay? Bye.}_

_{Next message…}_

_{Okay… there's something serious that I need to get off my chest. Only I don't know whether I should tell you over the phone… Mom, what is it?! Okay, I'm coming… I'll call you back. Bye.}_

"What is it that she needs to tell me?" thought Andre, "She already told me that she's seeing another guy. What more is there to say?"

_{Next message…}_

_{Meet me at the park near the library at 3:15... *sighs* bye.}_

It was 2:45. He had time to get there.

"Time to listen to what Jade had to say."

_{Next message…}_

_{…...}_

It was strange, Jade was saying absolutely nothing and then hanging up.

_{Next message…}_

_{…...}_

"Was she going to say anything at all?" Andre thought, moving on the final message.

_{Next message…}_

_{*sighs* Just meet me at the park at 3. Don't be late.}_

* * *

><p>Looking at the time, Andre quickly dashed out of house.<p>

"Dammit, it's 2:55!"

Andre ran as fast as he could, jumping over multiple obstacles and avoiding cars.

"Almost there… almost there…"

* * *

><p>As he entered the park, he stopped to catch his breath and gazed around for Jade.<p>

Looking around for sometime, he finally spotted the dark haired girl leaning against a tree.

"Bout time you got here." said Jade, as she saw Andre walking her way, "You know I don't like to be kept waiting."

"So… what is it that you need to tell me?" asked Andre.

Jade for the first time was at a complete loss for words.

Whenever she would begin to say something, she quickly stopped herself.

It was almost as if a bit of role reversal happened between Jade and Andre.

So Andre decided to say something.

"Look… whatever it is that you have to tell me… it won't change how I feel about you."

Jade gazed at Andre with surprise and then quickly with a look of frustration.

"Don't do that! Okay?! Just stop!" she said, walking away from him, "Stop being so nice to me!"

Hearing this confused Andre, he began to wonder exactly what was bothering Jade.

"Jade… is something wrong or what?" he asked, walking over to her.

As Andre placed his hand on Jade's shoulder, she quickly turned around, "I like you, okay?! I like you a lot."

Shocked by what he was hearing, Andre was completely silent.

"I remembered the day that we first met and all of a sudden these old feelings started to rush through my head." said Jade, looking worried, "Why did this have to happen? Why can't I get you off of my mind?"

Andre walked up to Jade and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Because we love each other, but we both know that it'll be wrong for anything to happen."

The look on Jade's face revealed that what Andre was saying was true.

She loved him.

He loved her.

There was no point in denying that.

"That day when we were in the dryer room just talking and laughing… I wanted to ask you out so, so badly… I just hated the thought that you were already taken." said Andre, feeling relieved that they were both getting things off their chest, "After awhile, it just became easier to suppress those feelings, until… until recently when the feelings came back."

"So what exactly do we do?" asked Jade, crying a bit, "I'm still with Beck. I-I-I can't just break up with him all of a sudden! Even thought I want to be with you."

Sighing heavily, a thought came to Andre's mind.

A thought that he hated, but knew was the right choice.

"Jade… I love you, so much… even though you're scary at times." said Andre, as Jade and him laughed, "Just like I wanted to be with you years ago, I want to be with you now."

"Same here." said Jade, looking down.

"But… I think for the time being; we strictly keep things at a friendship level."

A couple of tears ran down Jade's face.

"Even though you say you love me, a part of you still loves Beck." said Andre, "Even if you were to break up with him, you'll still love him. The relationship you two have had is simply too strong to break that easy."

Jade began wiping away the tears from her face.

"Maybe one day, we could be together; but as of now, I can't see that day coming any sooner."

"What if that day never comes? What then?"

"Then all I can wish is that Beck makes you very, very happy."

Andre felt a tear trying to escape from his eye, but he quickly wiped it away.

Seeing Andre almost cry, Jade hugged him.

"I would wish for you to meet a girl that's worthy of you, one that'll appreciate everything about you."

Both of them hated feeling like this.

Being so close to the one that they love and yet, so far from actually being with them.

It was a pain much worse than a heart attack.

"I have to go, I have somewhere else to be." said Jade, quickly walking away from Andre.

* * *

><p>As she left, Andre could see that she started back crying again.<p>

This had to have been one of the worst days, he has ever experienced.

He then remembered that he was also suppose to meet up with Tori.

Looking at his phone, he saw that it was already 3:45.

Leaving from the site of pure heartache, Andre looked for Tori.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Andre and Jade, Tori was within earshot of their conversation.<p>

She had arrived at the park earlier and caught sight of Andre and Jade.

Curious at what the two were talking about, she followed them and eavesdropped.

After listening to what the two said, Tori sat quietly at a park bench.

Sad, yet quiet.

Completely unaware of what was going on around her.

Completely unaware of how Andre thought of her.

And completely unsure of what she was going to tell him when he sees her.


	10. We All Fall Down

**Chapter Ten: We All Fall Down**

"Tori, sorry I'm late."

Tori found herself in a state where the outside world didn't exist.

She had no clue that Andre was standing in front of her.

All that was on her mind was Andre and Jade's confession to each other.

It replayed over and over and over.

_Why? _Tori thought, _Why does he love her? Why can't he just forget about her? _

"Tori… are you alright?"

_They wanted to be with each other… for so long. How can I compete with that?_

"Tori!"

She woke up, startled at Andre's presence.

"Oh! Hey… I was deep in thought." she said, as Andre sat down next to her.

"So what was so important that we had to meet up?" he asked.

Tori knew that she couldn't go along with her original plans…

Which was to confess to Andre that she loved him, and that Jade would never love him as much as she did.

She had to think on her feet.

She had to come up with something… quick!

"Yeah… I wanted to tell you that you should be seriously careful with how you handle things with Jade."

Andre felt guilty hearing this, considering what had just happened between him and Jade.

"Wouldn't it be better if you looked for someone that wouldn't cause you to lose your best friend?" continued Tori, even though she knew truth, "You know, find a relationship where you don't have to sacrifice something in your life?"

"You're right… my friendship with Beck is much more important than a relationship with Jade." Andre said, "I've decided to just let the thought of her go. She's no good for me."

Andre had to swallow hard while saying this.

It felt… so wrong… so disturbing.

Tori felt relieved to hear him say this.

_Finally! Finally he sees reason! Maybe things could still go as planned._

_Maybe I could still tell him how I really feel about him._

"Hey, it's getting a little too gloomy around here." said Tori, standing up, "How about we go see a movie? My treat."

Andre really didn't feel like going to the movies.

He would have rather just go back home and drown in his sorrow.

Why bother trying to be happy?

Especially when you can't be with the girl that you really love.

"I'm not really in the mood." Andre said, looking down at his feet.

But Tori wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

Grabbing Andre's hand and dragging him to his feet, she said, "Well, you're not going to stay here and pout over Jade. We're going to see a movie and that's final."

He didn't feel like arguing with Tori, nor did he wanted to upset her.

Causing one girl to cry was enough for him.

* * *

><p>As the two made there way to the nearest movie theater, Tori became hopeful of how things would go for that evening.<p>

_Things are going to go great. We'll watch an action flick. It'll liven him up. I'll try to keep his thoughts away from Jade. And then when the time is right… I'll tell him. _

"Two tickets for Plenty of Guns, Not enough Bullets." she said, as the cashier gave her the two tickets.

"I didn't know you wanted to go see that movie." said Andre, shocked by Tori's movie choice.

"Why? I thought you wanted to go see it? You've been talking about it for weeks."

"Yeah, I have been wanting to go see it, but I never saw you as the type to go see a movie like it."

"I like action movies… especially ones with lots of violence." lied Tori, as the two went to order their drinks and popcorn, "Sure, I was a little uneasy about them at first, but I've grown to love them.

No, Tori. You've grown to love Andre.

We all know it.

"I have to admit, I am starting to feel a bit better." said Andre, as they sat down while the previews began to play.

"Glad to hear that." said Tori, smiling.

Andre really was starting to feel better. He was looking forward to watching this movie and he was spending time with his best friend.

As the movie finally started, he could slowly feel the thoughts of Jade slip away.

_Nothing is going to get me down tonight. I'm just going to sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie._

* * *

><p>She felt terrible.<p>

Vulnerable.

Depressed.

Even with all of the steps that she had taken, she could not escape the memory of what had happened.

After much denial, she admitted that she loved another guy.

A guy who was her boyfriend's best friend.

She loved Beck. She honestly did love him.

But she loved Andre even more. And this made her sick.

As she continued to walk home, she became nauseous as she remembered what Andre had told her.

…_I think for the time being; we strictly keep things at a friendship level._

It killed her to hear him say that.

As a matter of fact, Jade wanted to kiss Andre back at the park, in order to make him change his mind.

But… she couldn't. She knew she couldn't do that.

She couldn't cheat on Beck or force Andre to betray their friendship.

Jade felt so lost and neither her mind nor her heart could guide her in the right direction.

* * *

><p>Arriving at her house, Jade was surprised to see Beck standing at her door.<p>

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking up to him.

"I came by to see if you were home, but nobody was home." said Beck, "Where have you been all day?"

"I-I was just at the park. Spent most of the day there, just drawing and-"

Jade slowly began to cry again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Beck, as he held Jade, while she continued to cry, "What's been bothering you?"

The voice of Andre began ringing in her head.

…_strictly keep things at a friendship level…_

It conflicted her mind so much. She couldn't take it anymore.

…_strictly keep things at a friendship level…_

She snapped.

Lunging at Beck, Jade began kissing him passionately. Almost not giving him the chance to even breathe.

"I love you." she said, with tears in her eyes and a look of resentment on her face.

"Whoa! I love you, too." said Beck, finally able to catch his breath.

* * *

><p>Making their way up to her room, the two continued to kiss each other with such fury.<p>

Pushing Beck onto her bed, Jade began taking off her shirt and jumped onto of him.

Beck had no way of knowing exactly what was going on in Jade's mind.

And at that moment, he didn't really care.

"Never seen you this intense before." he said, as Jade took off her bra.

"Shut up." she said, "Take off your shirt."

Taking off his shirt, Beck began kissing Jade once again, as she started to take off his belt and pants.

She was angry, so very angry.

Confused.

Fragile.

Scared.

There were so many adjectives that could describe how Jade West was feeling.

That's how messed up she was now.

* * *

><p>As she rode on top of Beck, she found the pleasure she was feeling to be both soothing and painful.<p>

_Strictly friendship. Strictly friendship. _she thought, as she moved faster and faster.

Beck began groaning with satisfaction as Jade rode him, harder and harder.

Jade could feel herself beginning to climax and began to firmly grip the sheets, nearly shredding them with her fingernails.

_He want to be just friends? Good. Cause he seriously lucked out. _She thought, falling on top of Beck, as the two tried to catch their breath.

Her mind was so twisted... Poor Jade.

"That… that was crazy. Awesome, yet crazy." said Beck.

"Yeah… yeah, it was." said Jade, as she rolled off of him.

* * *

><p>Within minutes, Beck had fallen asleep.<p>

Jade, still wide awake, grabbed her phone and began flipping through her pictures.

It wasn't until she came across the picture of Andre and her, that she stopped to look at it.

The picture was of Andre and Jade, soaking wet from their last trip to the water park.

They looked very happy, which made Jade smile.

_Why couldn't things be like this? Why couldn't both of us be happy?_

But soon that smile disappeared and Jade became tearful again.

"Andre…" she said tearfully.

Holding the phone close to her heart, Jade turned over and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>The night was going pretty well for Andre Harris.<p>

After watching what he considers to be "the best movie of the year," playing a game of mini putt, and eating pizza and ice cream; he was extremely exhausted.

Tori herself, enjoyed the evening as well.

Especially since Andre made not one mention of "You-Know-Who."

No, not Voldemort.

Jade.

But from Tori's point of view, they were both equal.

* * *

><p>Once the night was over, Andre made sure that Tori made it home safe.<p>

"Thanks for walking me home." said Tori, getting out her house keys,

"No problem. I wouldn't have felt right, if you were walking by yourself."

"Awww, such a gentlemen."

As the two laughed, Tori opened up the front door.

"Look, I wanted to tell you thanks for this evening." said Andre, "I've had a lot of fun."

"So did I. We should do this again sometimes."

"Yeah."

Tori didn't know what came over her, but what was about to happen... she had no control over it.

Out of nowhere, she kissed Andre, who immediately pulled away.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" said Tori, not entirely shocked by Andre's reaction.

Andre was surprised at first by Tori's kiss, but slowly looked saddened by it.

"Tori… I'm flattered but… I don't like you that way." said Andre, backing away from Tori, "I seriously wish that you didn't do that."

* * *

><p>As Andre walked away, Tori rushed into the house and ran upstairs.<p>

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, she began to cry.

_Why? Why did I do that?! Dammit… I'm such an idiot!_

Even though she knew that Andre's heart was with Jade, she sadly could not contain her emotions.

Poor Tori…

* * *

><p>Further down the street, Andre was seriously pissed off.<p>

_I finally decide that Jade and I should be just friends and then, Tori kisses me out of nowhere?!_

_And doesn't Tori already have a boyfriend?_

_This is so fucking stupid! _

Andre was so upset that he kicked over a garbage can.

_Why is all of this happening now?! Jade and Tori. Tori and Jade. _

_Never thought I would be in this situation. The girl that I truly love can't be with me and the girl that just kiss me… she's taken as well._

_I mean, exactly what is going on and what exactly am I going to do?_

All Andre could do was sit on the sidewalk and stare at the passing traffic.

He was at a loss. As was Tori and Jade as well.

Poor, poor, poor Andre...

* * *

><p>So to sum up this entire situation:<p>

Jade was home, crying herself to sleep because she could only be friends with Andre.

She may want to get with Andre, but she needs to remember that she's still in a relationship with a guy… that she still loves.

Tori was home as well, crying in her hallway, simply because Andre didn't return her affection.

Which she obviously should have known considering what she had heard him tell Jade back in the park.

And Andre was sitting on the sidewalk, upset that both Tori and Jade wanted to be with him… yet both of them were already with someone.

It sucks that Andre doesn't know that Tori really isn't in a relationship. Maybe if Tori didn't lie to him, some of this wouldn't have happened.

All three of them were in their own personal Hell… only time will tell if each one of them would find happiness.


	11. Not A Christmas Party Without You

**Chapter Eleven: Not A Christmas Party Without You**

More than a month had passed…

It was now early December.

And the three found themselves staying as far from each other as possible.

Jade clung to Beck.

Tori hung out with Cat.

And Andre…

Well, he pretty much stayed to himself.

Funny how mixed feelings can break up close friends.

Funny how you can get yourself out of one situation and find yourself in an even bigger one.

* * *

><p>Whenever Andre was near Jade, she would immediately look away from him or if Beck was with her, she would immediately start flirting with him.<p>

Sure, it was cruel, but Andre felt as if he had deserved it.

_That's what I get for letting my feelings go wild._

And whenever Tori was nearby, she would either act as if she was really busy or just glance at Andre for a bit and then look away.

He felt like he deserved that, too.

_Sending out mixed signal is what got me to this point._

And day by day it felt as if he had reached the point of no return.

Especially considering that he was reaching the deadline for his Creative Writing project.

_A Christmas song… yippee…_

Normally, Andre would be glad to write a Christmas song. He absolutely loved the holiday season and the Christmas-y feeling that came with it.

But considering how "great" things have been going lately, he just wasn't in the mood.

He had yet to come up with an idea of what his Christmas song was going to be about.

_Why can't I focus? Why can't I come up with anything catchy? _

He found it so difficult to focus on his song, while also being distracted by his wandering thoughts of Jade and Tori.

_Jade and I staying apart… it's for the best. But Tori and I? I have to find someway to fix that. I mean… she is my friend… who kissed me… even though she already had a boyfriend…_

Andre still at this point was clueless to the fact that Tori had lied about seeing someone. Seeing as Tori and him rarely talked since their "kiss", it's no wonder that he still didn't know.

What sucked even more was that while suppressing his feelings for Jade once again, Andre once again found himself feeling something for Tori again.

But it wasn't what you're thinking.

* * *

><p>Andre felt pretty bad that things had to go sour between him and his best friend.<p>

_Things can't go on like this anymore. I'm tired of not having my best friend to talk to. I settled things with Jade. I now need to fix things with Tori._

But as of lately, Tori has been constantly trying to avoid Andre.

Mostly because she was embarrassed by the surprise kiss that she planted on him more than a month ago.

But she slowly felt as if she would be able to live past it… until she remembered how deep her feelings were for Andre.

_Why couldn't I have control myself that night? *sighs* And why didn't I tell him that I wasn't really seeing someone… knowing Andre, that's probably why he rejected me… along with his confessions of undying passion for Jade, but that was another story._

* * *

><p>Tori was sitting on the floor by her locker, trying to somehow study her notes for English class, but it was pointless.<p>

_Can't focus for nothing! Been this way ever since that night! _

And she was about to lose even more focus in 3... 2... 1...

"Tori… how are you?" asked Andre, just standing there awkwardly, "Mind if I sit down... and this time can you please try not to run away?"

Tori closed her textbook and gestured for him to sit down.

Sighing anxiously, Tori spoke first.

"Look… I'm really, really sorry that I had kissed you, okay? It was wrong for me to just come at you after your whole talk with Ja-"

Tori quickly realized that Andre never told her about his moment with Jade under the park tree.

"Uhh…" she said, turning red.

"How did you know about me and Jade… Tori… you were there weren't you?"

She couldn't come up with a lie quick enough and just decided to tell the truth.

"Yes, I was there. I arrived earlier than I had told you and I saw you and Jade talking. I grew curious and listened in, but I did it only because I was concerned… Please don't be mad."

Andre wanted to be mad, but he knew better. He wanted to try and mend things between Tori and him, not further the silence between them. One month was enough for him.

"I'm not mad. No point in even being mad." he said, calmly, "So I guess you know everything now, huh?"

"Yeah… but there's one thing that you need to know." said Tori, fumbling with her pen, "I haven't exactly been seeing anyone like I told you. In fact, I haven't been out on a date since I broke up with Steven."

Andre was surprised. He was confused about why Tori would lie about dating someone.

"So when I asked you out that night… you lied and told me that you was seeing someone… and then a day later, you kiss me? Why?"

Looking down, Tori was quiet for a moment and said, "Because you said that it was Jade's idea for you to ask me out."

"Oh." said Andre, realizing where he went wrong, "I didn't mean to make it seem like she influenced me…"

"I understand, you're head over heels for her and you was just trying to move on."

"No, no. It's not that." said Andre, trying to explain himself, "Before this mess started, I was at one point thinking about asking you out."

Tori shrugged it off as a lie.

_He's obviously doing this to save his butt. I don't buy it._

"Andre, just don't. You don't have to lie, okay."

"But that's just it, I'm not lying." he said, with a look of seriousness, "There were several times where I was thinking of asking you out… but after a while… you just seemed so content with us just being friends and so I thought it was best to keep it that way."

Tori could hardly believe what she had just heard. Andre had several times to ask her out, yet chose not to simply to stay friends with her.

A part of her felt relieved, while the other half was upset.

_He was just dying to ask her out the first time he met her… yet he hesitated and eventually decided not to ask me out… ugh, I'm finding it sooo hard to see something positive in all this._

"And I like being friends with you, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't mind being much more." Andre said, continuing to make his point.

"_So why can't we start now?_"

* * *

><p>There was a slight tremble in Tori's voice.<p>

She felt so eager to start _something _with Andre.

Anything.

Just as long as she could be with him.

* * *

><p>Andre laid his head back on the lockers and said, "Tori… I really wish I could… but I still have strong feelings for Jade and it really wouldn't be fair for us to start something with my feelings constantly shifting between you two."<p>

Tori sighed sadly and held her head down.

"In order for us to have something, I'd have to be completely over Jade, but as of now... I'm nowhere near that point." he said, as Tori tried her hardest to not cry, "You need to find a guy who's heart would be completely yours, because right now… I'm not that kind of guy and I seriously wouldn't want to put you through a relationship with a guy whose feelings keep shifting. That's why I'm hoping that we could still be friends."

Tori hated every last bit of what was just said, but she felt that there was some truth to it.

She wouldn't want to be in a relationship with Andre if he still had some feelings for Jade.

She wanted him all to herself.

Andre also hated what he had just said, but he knew that it was true.

He didn't want to try having a relationship with Tori and then the next minute thinking about Jade.

He wanted to be Tori, but only if his feelings for Jade were gone.

It was kinda funny. Andre found himself friend zoning both Tori and Jade.

Two girls whom he has feelings for... yet he couldn't be with either of them.

* * *

><p>They sat there for a minute, completely silent.<p>

If it wasn't for Tori speaking up, the uncomfortable silence would have continued.

"I understand. I hate it, but I understand. Friends?" she said, wiping away a tear and holding her hand out to Andre.

"Friends." he responded, shaking Tori's hand.

* * *

><p>"What are you two up to?"<p>

Tori and Andre quickly looked up to see Beck and Jade standing in front of them.

"Nothing… just talking, that's all." said Tori, getting up.

"Yeah, like she said. Just talking." Andre said, getting up as well.

"Okay…" said Beck, confused, "Anyway, are you two still coming to my Christmas party?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" said Tori, smiling.

"I don't know if I can make it this year… I'm still trying to get this song together." Andre said, as he saw that Jade had full eye contact with him.

_First time that she has looked me in the eye in weeks._

"That sucks. It's not a Christmas party without you." said Jade, not losing eye contact.

It was weird how she was talking about him. Andre could have sworn that Jade was pissed off at him, but now he couldn't tell exactly what was going through her head.

"She's right, you do make every Christmas party exciting." added Beck.

After thinking for a second, Andre finally shouted, "Fine! I'll come to the Christmas party. Ya happy?"

"Very." smiled Jade, deviously.

"Can't wait to see you there." said Beck, as he and Jade left.

* * *

><p>Andre felt uncomfortable with how Jade was looking at him. He had a feeling that Jade had something planned for him.<p>

But what?

What exactly was Jade planning?

And what was up with the complete 180 that she had just pulled?

Only time would tell.

And it worried the hell out of Andre.

* * *

><p>The school dismissal bell rang and the students began to leave.<p>

"Hmm, I wonder what Andre and Tori were really talking about?" asked Beck, as he got some books out of his locker.

"I don't know. Why you ask?" said Jade, flipping through the pages of her textbook.

"No reason… well, I've always wondered why Andre never asked out Tori."

This caused Jade to quickly close her textbook.

"What do you mean?"

"I just always thought they would make a great couple." Beck answered, closing his locker, "They seem to have bad luck with most of their relationships and they're always hanging out together."

"But that doesn't mean that they would be perfect together."

"That may be so, but you never know how they would be as a couple."

"Since when are you concerned about their relationship status?"

"Uh, ever since I noticed that most of their relationships don't last very long." replied Beck, placing his arm around Jade, "I mean, c'mon, don't you think that's kinda sad?"

As the two began to walk out of the school, Jade responded, "Yeah, it is… but I just don't see Tori being right for Andre. He could do so much better."

"Wow, that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Not at all." said Jade, as they got into Beck's car, "And why are you siding with Tori so much?"

"I'm not siding with anyone; I just think that it's a bit harsh of how you're being so negative about this."

"I'm not being negative. I'm just being honest." Jade stated, as they drove off, "Andre's a good guy, he deserves someone better."

"Okay, so if not Tori, than who?"

Deep down inside, Jade ached to just yell out "Me!", but she knew better and said, "Tricia Philips! She's perfect for him!"

Beck was in disbelief, "Tricia Philips?! The kleptomaniac who used to stalk me? Are you serious?"

Jade didn't really know what to say, "Yeah, I think she… has a certain quality that… only Andre would appreciate."

Beck looked even more confused and said, "Okay, just forget that I even brought up this conversation."

He turned up the radio and focused on driving.

* * *

><p>Jade just sat there and looked out the passenger side window.<p>

_Tricia Philips? Really? I couldn't think of anyone else? __**Anyone else?! **__And why was Andre talking with Tori? Were they really thinking about getting together?! _

Jade felt more conflicted than ever before.

One minute, she hates Andre for suggesting that they should only be friends.

Next minute, she becomes jealous of seeing him talking with Tori.

At times, Jade really felt like she was unstable and that her emotions were messed up.

Sure, she was still with Beck, but… ugh, this is so complicating to explain.

But I'll try my best…

Okay, here we go.

* * *

><p>Jade really wanted to stay with Beck.<p>

But she also really wanted to be with Andre.

Yet she was also mad at him for "friend zoning" her.

Which doesn't make much sense considering that he was just doing it to maintain the three of theirs relationship.

But Jade's feelings for the both of them had warped her sense of reasoning.

So now Jade was plotting something against Andre for Beck's Christmas party.

No one knew what her plans were… but whatever they were, chances are Andre was **not** going to like them.


	12. Backfired

**Chapter Twelve: Backfired**

It was a chilly Friday night and everyone was on their way to Beck's Christmas Party!

It was sure to be a big extravaganza and a night that no one would ever forget.

Everyone was excited to go… everyone except for one guy.

* * *

><p>Andre Harris was still unsure about going to the party.<p>

He was still worrying about what Jade had up her sleeve and whether or not he was making a big fuss over nothing.

_She was acting so strange… and was too calm when she was talking to me. I could just feel a sinister plot building up inside of her._

He laid there on his bed.

Staring at the ceiling; he thought about what he was going to do.

_Should I stay home or should I go to the party?_

Andre really wanted to go to this Christmas party; all of his friends were going to be there and every previous Christmas party has been pretty damn good.

But on the other hand, he was really worried about what vindictive scheme Jade was going to unleash on him.

Many vile and cruel punishments ran through his head, ranging from filling his pants with fire ants to pouring Ipecac into his drink.

(For those who don't know what Ipecac is, it's a liquid that causes you to vomit uncontrollably.)

_Better to be vomiting uncontrollably than to be poisoned._

He then started to think about the possibility of Jade poisoning him.

But that was ridiculous… Jade wouldn't poison him… would she?

"That's it! I'm not going! I'm definitely not going." he stated, continuing to lay down, "They can all have fun without me."

* * *

><p><strong>DING-DONG!<strong>

"Who in the world could that be?" asked Andre, getting out of bed and heading towards the front door.

To his surprise, it was Robbie and Beck.

"What are you two doing here?" Andre asked, as the two entered the house, "Shouldn't you two be at the party?"

"We could say the same thing about you." said Beck, "Are you still coming to the party?"

"No, I can't… I'm not really in the mood." lied Andre, trying to sound serious.

"No, no, no. Beck and I knew you would try something like this." responded Robbie, as he and Beck grabbed Andre and forced him outside, "You've been depressed for weeks."

"And this party will be the perfect way to make you feel better." added Beck, opening the passenger side door of his car.

"Guys, seriously. I'm busy… I have too much homework… my grandma needs me to help her paint the oranges…" pleaded Andre, trying to come up with any reason not to go to the party.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're still going to the party." Beck said, as they finally got Andre in Beck's car, "Trust me, its going to be the best party yet."

Andre decided not to fight it; there was no point in it.

He realized that Beck and Robbie were right.

He definitely needed something to cheer him up.

And nothing brings more cheer than a Christmas party!

But wait- there's still the ongoing threat of Jade's revenge.

_I'll just have to keep my eyes open and stay away from her… yeah, that'll work._

* * *

><p>As they drove off towards Beck's house, Andre continued to think about how things were going to go at the party.<p>

_I'll just have to avoid her… simple as that…_

When they finally arrived at the party, Andre was shocked to see just how many people where there.

There had to have been hundreds of people there.

Some of them didn't even go to Hollywood Arts.

Some didn't even live in the same state.

It was that much of an extravaganza.

* * *

><p>One of the few faces that Andre was able to recognize was Cat's.<p>

She was particularly easy to spot considering that she was wearing a Christmas stocking cap with blinking neon lights and carrying around a particularly large, stuffed bag.

"Wow, you sure do look… festive." spoke Andre, as Cat walked towards them.

"Thanks! I got this bag from my brother ever since he got fired from his job at the mall."

"Oh yeah, wasn't your brother the mall Santa?" asked Robbie.

"He used to be, but ever since he did some… things, the cops arrested him."

"Exactly what did he do?" questioned Beck.

"Well, it involved some of the "elves", a rabbi, a toaster, two reindeers, a soccer mom, a stolen van, a satellite dish, and **a lot **of peanut butter."

Knowing that this would turn out to be one story that they would regret hearing, Andre said, "Okay, I think we get the point."

**_Rustle... Rustle..._**

They were shocked to see that the bag that Cat was holding was moving.

"What's in the bag?" asked Robbie, as Cat placed the bag on the ground.

"To be honest, I have no clue." she smiled, "Have a very, merry Christmas!"

* * *

><p>As Robbie and Cat walked off with her mysterious bag, Andre spotted Jade walking towards him.<p>

"I'll be back… I have to use the bathroom." he said, as he took off running into the house.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Jade, as she kissed Beck.

"Apparently, he had a mighty need to use the bathroom." replied Beck, with his arm around her, "So, how's the party going?"

"Pretty good, but I predict that things will get much, much better as the night goes on." smiled Jade, deviously.

Not sure what Jade meant, Beck simply said, "Okay…" and the two went to join the others in the house.

* * *

><p>After four hours of dancing, drinking, and a fiery duet with Tori, Andre was really enjoying the Christmas party.<p>

Sure, he was still on the lookout for any tricks that Jade might have up her sleeve; but he started to feel like maybe it was nothing at all.

"Hey, Andre. How you liking the party?" asked Jade, who snuck up behind him.

"Jade! H-h-hi! Didn't see you there?" stuttered Andre, calming down from the mini heart attack he'd just had.

"Were you hiding from me?" smiled Jade, "Cause whenever I get near you, you have some reason to leave or you take off running."

Andre was trying to keep himself from panicking.

He couldn't let Jade see that he was worried about what she was going to do to him.

He had to stay calm, stay cool, stay true.

…that sounded so much better in my head…

"No, it's just that things are really busy around here and Beck has me helping out with keeping things from getting out of control… so I really haven't had time to talk to you." he lied, saying what he thought was the best excuse he could come up with.

"Oh, okay… well, here's some punch." said Jade, handing Andre a cup of strawberry punch, "I hope you enjoy it."

As she walked off, she continued to smile at Andre.

Jade had a very pretty smile, but sometimes that smile could look so evil.

When Jade was out of sight, Andre threw the punch over his shoulder, not knowing that he had accidentally hit Sinjin in the face.

"Mmm, strawberry." said Sinjin, wiping the punch from his face.

* * *

><p>It was almost 11:30 and the crowd was starting to diminish.<p>

As he was getting ready to leave, Andre received a text from Beck.

_{Need help. Drunk guy passed out in my RV.}_

_It's not one hell of a party unless you have a passed out drunk guy somewhere._

Andre laughed at this and walked out the backdoor.

The night had gone spectacularly great.

He had the most fun in quite some time and managed to get some numbers from some pretty fine ladies.

One in particular, Hope Quincy, seemed really interested in Andre.

_Might have to call her up later. _He thought, as he finally made it to the RV.

Andre had just had one of the best night of his life and now he was about to help his best friend get a drunk guy out of his RV.

Talk about a hilarious way to end a great night.

Before he was about to knock on the door, Andre noticed that the door was slightly open.

Not seeing it as being strange, he opened the door.

"Kay, I'm here. Where's this drunk-"

But he couldn't finish his sentence.

He simply rushed out of the RV and didn't look back.

He was traumatized. He tried to shake off what he had just saw, but the image was burnt into his mind.

* * *

><p>As he made his way into his house, Andre had to get a drink of water.<p>

He felt like he wanted to throw up.

He felt so sick after what he had just saw.

When he got to his room, he sat on the floor near his bed and tried his hardest to forget what had happened.

He took out his phone and looked at the text that Beck had sent him.

"Why would he send me a text to come to his RV if…"

And it was at that moment that Andre realized the ugly truth…

* * *

><p>She gazed at the text and smiled.<p>

_Everything went exactly as planned._

She then deleted the text as soon as she heard someone coming towards the RV.

"That's the last of them. Everyone is gone now." asked Beck, as he entered the RV, "Have you seen my phone?"

"You left it on the table." replied Jade, handing him his cell.

"That… that was really weird, wasn't it?" asked Beck, as he buttoned up his shirt, "I wonder what caused Andre to just come in here like that."

"I have no clue." said Jade, trying not to laugh, "Maybe he was looking for you or something."

"Could be." responded Beck, "I thought you had locked the door when we came in here earlier."

Jade was waiting for Beck to ask her this. She had _every_ little detail planned out.

"That lock has been pretty faulty lately. You really need to change it soon." she answered, without hesitation.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It has been acting up at times." said Beck, sitting by Jade, "You should get dressed so I can give you a ride home."

After Beck left the RV, Jade began to get her clothes together.

She couldn't help but smile.

She couldn't help but wonder how things were going for Andre.

* * *

><p>"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, throwing his phone at the wall, "This was her plan… she wanted me to see the two of them… ugh!"<p>

Knocking stuff over and throwing things around the room, Andre was just full of rage.

_That look on her face… she was waiting for me to come in the RV. Her eyes… fuck… she was enjoying it and… what kind of sick twisted game is she playing? _

After calming down a bit, Andre looked at the mess that was his room.

"This is so fucked up!"

* * *

><p>Pulling up to Jade's house, Beck kissed her on the cheek and said, "I'll call you in the morning; I have to spend the rest of the night getting a pest out of the RV."<p>

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, a cricket found its way through the open door." Beck explained, irritably, "When I was looking for my car keys, I heard it somewhere near the fish tank, but when I got there it was somewhere near the bed. I'm going to be up all night trying to catch it."

Jade placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "Aww, good luck with that."

"Thanks. I'm gonna need it."

Getting out of his car, Jade walked up her walkway and waited for Beck to be out of sight.

Once he was out of view, Jade turned around and began walking down the street.

She had someone she had to visit first.

And they were only a block away.

* * *

><p>Slowly calming down from his earlier tirade, Andre was watching cartoons while lying on the sofa in the den.<p>

Not even the zaniness of _Tom and Jerry _could get his mind off of what he saw earlier.

_**DING-DONG!**_

* * *

><p>Turning off the TV, Andre got up to answer the door.<p>

_It's 12:45! Who in the hell could this be?!_

As he opened the door, he felt his rage building back up.

"Hi." she smiled.

As Andre began to close the door, Jade placed her foot out to stop it.

"Isn't that a bit rude?" she asked, pushing the door open and strutting into the house.

"You're one to talk. After that little stunt you pulled."

"Stunt? Why I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Bullshit! You somehow got Beck's phone and texted me to come to the RV so I could see…"

"Go ahead… say it."

"You're disgusting."

"Aww, don't be shy. Just say it. You saw the two of us_ fucking_ around and it made you mad. It made you jealous."

Andre had to walk away from Jade.

"God! The look on your face said it all. You so wished that you was in his place. Didn't you?" she laughed, walking over to Andre, "Doesn't feel so good, huh? It hurts, doesn't it?"

"I knew you were capable of many things, but this… this is your lowest point ever." stated Andre, turning to face Jade, "But what I still don't understand is why… why are you doing this? Why are you so mad at me?"

"**BECAUSE YOU REJECTED ME!**"

Andre could see that Jade was starting to cry. Crying, yet still angry.

"I put my feeling out there… all those feeling that I had for you… and as easy as 1-2-3, you say, 'Let's be friends'. And to make matters worse, you move on with none other than Tori?! How desperate can you get?!"

"Well what did you want me to say?! 'Forget about Beck and be with me'?! Are you even in your right mind right now?!"

Jade huffed and walked away from Andre.

"I admitted that I loved you. That you had a strong hold on me. That I couldn't stop thinking about you. Hell, I once woke up sweating from a dream that I had about you… You see, I'm not a very reasonable person. I revealed a side to you that I rarely show anyone else, mainly cause I'm afraid of what someone would do… but you didn't even care at all! And it killed me to have had to go through that!"

Andre just stood there.

"That's why I did this. That's why I came up with this grand scheme. I had to hurt you, the same way you hurt me."

Hearing this, Andre walked over to Jade.

"For your information, I _did_ care. It was strange to see this whole new side to you that was vulnerable yet caring. The weeks after that afternoon were a living hell. Because I knew that things would be much, much harder now that our feelings were out in the open. But… I was slowly getting used to us just being friends; not because I wanted to, but because I had to. For the sake that our relationships stayed together. And to be honest, there's nothing between Tori and me. We're _just_ friends."

* * *

><p>A weird feeling came over Jade, she slowly began to feel sad.<p>

That once rage filled, yet ecstatic feeling was gone.

She now felt depressed.

Miserable.

Regretful.

And any other adjective that means "feeling like shit."

"Andre… I…"

"Let me finish… After tonight, I completely regret ever having any hope that anything real could **_ever_** come between us. After I saw just how despicable you could get… I no longer want anything to do with you."

Andre walked over to the front door and opened it.

Jade looked completely flabbergasted.

She couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"You can't be serious…"

"Dead serious. Don't speak to me. Don't text me. Don't call me. Don't even look at me. I'm done."

"No, wait… this isn't supposed to be happening. You're not supposed to be like this!"

"So exactly how am I supposed to be? What exactly is my final part to play in your _big __plan_?"

Jade began feeling confused and scared, "I-I don't know! I didn't want you to hate me… I-I can't be here anymore."

Rushing out the door, Jade quickly made her way back home.

Not feeling anymore concern for the girl, Andre plainly shut the door and sat back on the couch to watch cartoons.

_I'm done with all of her bullshit. If peace of mind meant not being friends or anything with Jade, then so be it._

* * *

><p>As Jade entered her house, she ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door.<p>

Sobbing uncontrollably, she laid on her bed and curled up.

Nothing much could be said from her.

It was such a miserable sight.

Her ploy of revenge backfired on her.

She continued to cry for several minutes…

…until she was finally able to go to sleep.

But not even a peaceful dream could wake her from this nightmare.


	13. The Perfect Gift

**Chapter Thirteen: The Perfect Gift**

**Monday**

The weekend was over.

Games had been played.

And people had been burned.

But that didn't bother Andre Harris at all.

He had other stuff to worry about.

Like the fact that he got a D on his Creative Music project.

Not to mention that he came up with the idea for the song from something that Jade had said.

_It's not a Christmas party without you._

Just nix the "a" and "party" and you got the title.

Even though he was through with her, he didn't have no other way to come up with a starting point for the song and that phrase was the one thing that was stuck in his head.

_The song was good… no, better than good. It was perfect! How in the hell could it get a D?! A D?!_

He also had to come up with the perfect gift for Beck.

_Better to find an excellent gift rather than going Christmas yodeling with Sikowitz._

But even though Andre had these two issues to deal with, he was extremely glad that he didn't have one _**very big **_issue to deal with anymore.

* * *

><p>Jade West sat quietly in the library.<p>

Last Friday night changed her.

_What's wrong with me?… How could I sink so low to do something like that? Andre was right, I'm not right in the head._

After Friday night, Jade questioned herself about how she could possibly try to make things right, but no foolproof idea could be thought of.

She just hated to see anyone look so disappointed in her.

She already had enough of that from her father, but when it came to seeing that same reaction from Andre… it sadden her.

And even if she did come up with a way to apologize to Andre, he wouldn't take the time out of the day to even listen to her.

_I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him pay for making me feel useless. I wanted him to hurt! But when it really happened… I didn't like what I saw. _

At that moment, Jade had received a text.

It was from Sikowitz.

Along with the name of the person that Jade had to give a gift to.

And she was none too happy to see who it was.

"Tori! Seriously?! Tori!" yelled Jade, as she stared at the message, "You've got to be freakin' kidding me!"

A student who was trying to study, loudly shushed Jade.

"Oh, shush yourself!" she snapped, gathering her things and storming out of the library.

_Sikowitz is nuts if he thinks that I'm getting Tori a present… when she get a present from me, its when Hell freezes over… twice!_

* * *

><p>Not paying much attention to where she was going, Jade had accidentally bumped into Andre.<p>

Andre, not wanting anything to do with Jade, simply walked around her.

He didn't even look at her.

It was like she didn't exist to him or something.

Jade felt deeply upset that things had turned out like this.

It was all her fault.

She only hoped that she could find someway to fix the mess that she made.

* * *

><p><strong>[Perfect Christmas Gifts for Guys]<strong>

Read the title of the article which Tori was reading.

She had just recently found out that she was Andre's secret Santa and was desperately trying to find _The Perfect Gift_.

"Does Andre like toasters?" Tori asked herself, scrolling down the list of gift ideas, "Maybe a nice toaster would be perfect for him."

After a while, Tori realized how stupid she had just sound.

_A toaster? Really? What's next? A pair of socks? Spoons?_

Tori was at wits' end trying to find Andre something.

_It has to be something meaningful. Something spectacular. Something that makes him say, 'Wow, Tori. This is the most amazing gift that I've ever received!... I love you!'_

Even though Andre made it pretty damn clear that nothing could happen between him and Tori at the moment, Tori still had a tiny bit of hope that maybe one day… someday… Andre would be with her.

_No! Stop it, Tori! Get a hold of yourself! Nothing can happen between you two, so stop getting your hopes up… just look for an awesome gift for Andre simply because he's your best friend._

But that was impossible.

No gift seemed to be perfect enough for Andre in her eyes.

It wasn't until she saw an advertisement for Color Me Pot, that she came up with an idea.

[Looking for that perfect gift for that special someone this holiday season?!]

[Then how about a gift that comes straight from the heart?!]

[For this weekend only, get 50% off any ceramic item of your choice!]

"_Straight from the heart?_" said Tori, as she thought about the ad, "What better way to show Andre how much I care about him than to make something for him… something straight from the heart!"

Finally coming up with what she thought was _The Perfect Gift_ for Andre, Tori rushed out of the house… but returned shortly when she remembered one important thing.

"I can't drive…" she said, as she ran upstairs, "Mom! I could use a ride to the mall!"

* * *

><p><span><strong>Wednesday<strong>

Andre was sitting on his porch, quietly strumming his guitar.

The rain softly pouring outside.

He loved when it would rain like this.

It had a strange calming affect over him… one that he'd been craving for the past couple of days.

He was finally over Jade.

Out of sight, out of mind.

But this whole situation with him having to give Beck a gift… it somehow made him struggle trying to keep from thinking about _You-Know-Who_.

* * *

><p>No, not Voldemort. Haven't we been over this before?<p>

* * *

><p><em>What kind of gift would he like? <em>

Gazing at the falling rain, an idea crept up on Andre.

He chuckled at the thought of it.

_He could probably use a good night's sleep, what with that cricket in the RV …_

_A good night's sleep…_

_Cricket…_

_RV…_

He knew just what to get.

"That's it! That's it!" he yelled, cheerfully, _All I have to do is get the cricket out of his RV! It's perfect! It's brilliant!_

Andre felt joyous over finding the right gift for Beck… especially since this gift wouldn't cost him a penny.

Besides, this wasn't a contest to see who gave the most expensive gift. So you can't say that Andre is being cheap here.

* * *

><p>The pouring rain slowed down until it ended with a final drop.<p>

Even after the rain stopped, Andre could see that it was getting dark.

But out of the corner of his eye, he could see someone walking down the sidewalk in front of his house.

It was Jade.

Walking casually, she tried to avert her gaze from Andre's; who just sat there, acting as if he was tuning his guitar.

_I wonder where she's going… No… who cares? It's none of my business._

Jade continued to walk, trying to hide her emotions from being shown.

_I can't even look at him. I-I just don't want to see that look on his face again. That look of disappointment. That look of regret. I couldn't bare to put myself through that again._

She didn't break pace, she kept her head up and kept walking until she was no longer near Andre's gaze.

* * *

><p>She eventually came across an empty bus stop.<p>

Sitting down, Jade felt herself wanting to cry, but fought against it.

She was originally going to stop by Andre's to try and talk to him; but after seeing him face to face, she quickly decided against it.

_I can't even face him… its ridiculous! Why can't I confront him? I can stand up to anyone else, but him… it's hopeless._

Wanting to distract herself, Jade took out her PearPod and started listening to _Foo Fighters._

Jade loved Foo Fighters, by the way.

* * *

><p>Slowly calming down from the music that played, Jade began strolling around <em>The Slap <em>website, where she came across the posts which Tori recently updated.

_Ugh, she's still whining about not finding Andre the right gift?… And who the hell buys someone a ceramic guitar for Christmas? I swear, she is so clueless!_

Jade began to think of exactly why she had to give Tori a present.

Why couldn't it have been Andre?

She would have easily known what to give him:

Perform his Christmas song in front of the whole school…

With elaborate Christmas decorations…

A band…

Backup dancers…

Make it spectacular!

Show his teacher that he was a jackass for giving Andre's song a D.

But the chances of Jade making that happen were very-

Wait…

She could do it.

* * *

><p>At that moment, Jade finally figured it out.<p>

_My gift to Tori would also be a hidden gift to Andre… damn, I'm good!_

Jade quickly got up and ran down the street.

She only had three blocks to go before she would get to Tori's house.

_I finally have the solution to both of my problems. I'm definitely not wasting this one chance at forgiveness!_

* * *

><p>When Jade finally got to Tori's house, she wasn't surprised to see that like always, there was something weird going on.<p>

Robbie and Trina were busy spraying God knows what on a Christmas tree and Tori was… well, being Tori.

Which was weird enough for Jade.

She even had to go through a body search for scissors… which she kinda enjoyed… but not that much. Not that much.

"Okay… so what's this plan of yours?" asked Tori, as Robbie and Trina continued to clean up the flocking mess by the Christmas tree.

* * *

><p>Hee hee, "flocking" sounds kinda like "fucking."<p>

Just had to throw that in there…

Okay, back to the story.

* * *

><p>"Well… you know how Andre's song got a D, right?"<p>

"Yeah…"

"Well, the plan I have is a way to persuade his teacher to give him a higher grade."

"Sweet! How?"

"You, Cat and myself are going to sing his song… in front of the entire school."

Tori's eyes opened up.

"That's… that's brilliant. Like really brilliant."

"That's not all, we'll be dressed up in Christmas outfits, have tons of Christmas decorations, a band to perform with us, and backup dancers."

Tori for the first time in her life, had felt like Jade was a godsend.

"Jade… this is… thanks, thanks for giving me this great idea!" rejoiced Tori, slowly moving towards Jade to give her a hug.

Jade thought that it was only fair to allow the hug for only a second, but quickly pushed away from Tori afterwards.

"Just because I'm your secret Santa doesn't mean that I actually like you." she snapped, "To say the least, I tolerate you."

Not letting Jade ruin this wonderful moment, Tori replied, "Well, I tolerate you too."

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Whatever." scoffed Jade, as she continued to explain her plan, "Anyway, since we have a day before this Secret Santa thing is over; that gives us plenty of time to get the band and dancers together, decorations set up, and choreography done."

"But how are we going to get Andre's song?"

"I got it covered. Cat is going to get a copy of the song from him without drawing suspicion."

"Are you sure that Cat can do this?"

"Let me worry about that. We have to start preparing for this if we want to make this **_perfect_**."

Even though Tori was eager to get started, she couldn't help but begin to wonder about why Jade was so eager to participate in this plan.

She understood that the idea was Jade's gift to her, but…

Could there have been an ulterior motive to this?

When Tori later asked Jade about this, Jade only had this to say:

"Let's just say that I'm trying to get back on his good side, and let's leave it at that."

_His good side? What could that mean? _

But Tori decided to put that thought aside and continue planning the big surprise for Andre.

She could worry about that another time.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Friday<strong>

It was an hour after the spectacular Christmas performance.

The students were eagerly getting ready to leave for Christmas break.

And Tori was still excited from helping Andre pass this semester with an A.

"Hey!" smiled Andre, walking up to Tori, as she gather her books together, "Just wanted to tell you… Thanks… again."

"You don't have to keep thanking me." responded Tori, closing her locker and slinging her book bag on her shoulder, "I was just your Secret Santa."

"I know, but it was the thought that counts. You really helped turn things around for me." said Andre, as he hugged Tori.

* * *

><p>She felt as if she was about to melt in his arms.<p>

Sure, Andre and Tori have hugged plenty of times, but this time was different.

And it was all because Tori helped him pass his Creative Music class for the semester…

But Tori couldn't escape the fact that it wasn't entirely her idea.

A part of her didn't feel right taking all the credit.

Yet, she really liked the attention that she was getting from Andre… but it didn't feel so good considering that Jade was behind this being a success.

_Why can't I ever win?_

Slowly pulling away from Andre, Tori confessed, "Andre... I have to tell you something."

* * *

><p>Jade was sitting under the big oak tree in her yard.<p>

She was busy drawing the scenery of her mom's garden.

The cool air and lack of sunlight was the perfect weather for her to relax outside.

For a moment, this period of tranquility helped keep her mind off of Andre.

For a while.

She couldn't help but think about how happy he'd look after getting an A for his song.

It made her feel good for what she had done.

Even if Andre never knew that she was the brains of that performance, she didn't care.

She was just glad to know that she helped make Andre happy once again.

* * *

><p>Looking down at the sketch she was drawing, Jade noticed that she unknowingly began sketching Andre's face.<p>

She smiled as she closed her sketch book.

* * *

><p>"Jade."<p>

Quickly turning around, she was surprised to see Andre standing there.

Getting up, she uttered, "Andre… Hi…"

It was quiet between the two for several seconds.

The silence was broken when Andre responded, "Um… Tori told me everything and… it was very nice of you to do that."

"Thanks, I just couldn't stand seeing you upset. Especially since I caused most of your grief with… well, you know."

"Yeah. Let's not talk about that **_ever _**again, okay?" Andre chucked, as Jade laughed with him.

After the brief laugh, it was once again quiet between the two.

This time Jade broke the silence.

Choking back tears, she said something that was a rarity for her.

"Andre... *sniffs* I'm _so sorry_... for everything."

Andre slowly began feeling like this silent treatment of his was going on for far too long.

Jade went through all of this trouble to redeem herself, even though she was probably never going to acknowledge herself as being the one who came up with the idea.

* * *

><p>Sure, the scene in the RV used haunted him; but it was time to let go of the hatred that he held onto because of it.<p>

Jade _was_ a friend of his.

A friend whom had just redeemed herself.

That doesn't sound much like a heartless, cold blooded person, now does it?

"Come here." spoke Andre, as he opened out his arms to hug her.

Not hesitating to react, Jade rushed to hug Andre.

With tears streaming down her face, Andre knew that Jade was sincerely sorry for her previous actions.

Deep down inside, he was glad that she went through all this just to earn his forgiveness.

It once again showed how much she really cared about him.

And it gave him his friend back.

* * *

><p>Holding him tightly, Jade felt as if all things were finally set right.<p>

"Do you forgive me?" she asked, tearfully.

"I forgive you, Jade. I forgive you."


	14. A Peaceful Night's Sleep

**Chapter Fourteen: A Peaceful Night's Sleep**

"Exactly what is your problem?"

"My problem? My problem is that I'm tired of hearing you whine about that dumb game show. You've been at it all day."

"Well can you blame me? We can't have one conversation without you yelling at me."

"Just stop with it. You're giving me a headache."

"Not as bad as the one I've had all day."

* * *

><p>It was your typical late April afternoon.<p>

Beck and Jade were driving around looking for any sign of their friends.

Friends who were trying to keep as much distance away from them as possible.

Why, you ask?

For several days, the two have been at each other's throats.

Sure, they were known for their occasional bickering… but this was different.

Almost every time that you would see them together, chances are they would be arguing.

And last night didn't make things any better.

During Sinjin's game show, Beck admitted that he wasn't happy with their relationship.

It was an embarrassing moment for Jade, which only furthered her bitterness.

* * *

><p>"You just keep going on and on and on about our problems."<p>

"Well aren't you tired of arguing, cause I know I am."

"Couple argue. We're arguing. This is normal. Get over it!"

Beck grew tired of hearing Jade completely twist the conversation around.

It was like she didn't want to take anything seriously.

"Ugh, you just… drive me crazy sometimes."

"So what are you saying? Do you wanna break up?"

"Jeez, you keep saying that like a broken record! 'Do you wanna break up? Do you wanna break up? Do you wanna break up?' It's annoying."

Hearing Beck mock her pissed Jade even more.

"You did not just mock me!"

"Uh, I guess I did."

"Listen smartass, I'm sick of this. This conversation is over."

"Fine by me."

* * *

><p>The brief moment of silence was something that Beck hadn't felt in a long time.<p>

He almost wished that it had lasted longer.

"Where the hell are we going anyway?" asked Jade, trying to figure out where they were.

"Heading to Tori's. They're bound to be there." Beck answered, trying to focus on driving and avoiding starting another argument.

* * *

><p>But Jade didn't need Beck to start an argument.<p>

She could do that herself.

"Why do you even care about hanging out with them?"

"Cause they're our friends, that's why."

"Who gives a shit about them?"

"So you're honestly saying that you don't care about any of them?"

"Yup."

"What about Cat?"

"Cat's like any annoying little sister… or a pet. I tolerate her. So she doesn't count.

"Trina?"

Jade simply scoffed.

"Robbie?"

"Heck no!"

"Tori?"

"HELL NO!"

"Andre?"

Hearing that name caused Jade to hesitate. She found it hard to fully think.

_DAMMIT! What do I do?! What do I do?! I-I-I care for Andre, but I don't know what to say!_

It didn't take long before Beck caught on.

"So you do care for someone! You actually care about Andre."

Jade began to panic, she had to come up with some excuse. Something to get Beck off her case, but her mouth wasn't moving. For the first time in weeks, Jade found herself speechless.

"Glad to see that you actually care about one of your friends."

…_one of your friends…_

"Uh… yeah, Andre's a really good friend. Really good friend." sighed Jade, feeling relieved that her panic attack had ended.

_That was a really close one. Too close for comfort._

* * *

><p>In order to keep the conversation from going back to Andre, Jade did the only thing she knew would keep the focus away from him.<p>

"Why can't we go somewhere else? I really don't feel like seeing the Prissy Miss in all of her prissiness."

"Why must you always pick on Tori?"

"Why must you always defend Tori?

"Please don't start this again."

* * *

><p>For the next two minutes, Beck and Jade constantly bickered about numerous things.<p>

Their argument didn't even falter when they finally reached Tori's house.

"Let me hold your keys, I left my phone in the car." ordered Jade, as they stopped halfway up the front lawn.

"Why do you always forget that you've left something in the car?" asked Beck, handing Jade his car keys.

"Cause I fucking can!" she shouted, unlocking the passenger side door and grabbing her phone from out of the cup holder.

Once Jade retrieved her phone, she met up with Beck and the two continued towards the front door.

"I bet you anything that all of them are in there." Beck stated, as he rang the doorbell.

"When are you going to realize this? I… don't… care." said Jade, wishing that she was somewhere else.

"Can you please get over yourself? For once?" asked Beck, as the front door opened.

_And if it isn't the Prissy Miss herself… _

Jade had a feeling that tonight would be horrible… if only she knew just how horrible it would become.

* * *

><p>"<strong>1!<strong>" she yelled, waiting for Beck to come out of the house.

_He's knows I'm not joking around. He'll come out soon._

"**2!**"

_He'll open up that door around 3 or 4. _

"**3!**"

_Here it comes, he's about to open the door._

But the door didn't open.

_He'll opening it at 4, I'm sure of it._

"**4!**"

The door still didn't open and Jade began to worry.

_Come on, Beck… you know I'm being serious. _

"**5!**"

_I'm halfway to ten… I get it, he's toying with me. Typical._

"**6!**"

Jade felt herself choking up a little when she said…

"**7!**"

She was in disbelief. She'd never seen Beck behave like this before.

_He should be out here already!_

"**8!**"

_Beck, where are you?_

"**9!**"

…_Beck…_

"**10...**"

She stood there.

Not doing much else.

She just stood there.

Waiting for her boyfriend to open the door.

After a moment, she reached down at the door handle.

Hoping that somehow, Beck would quickly open it.

But her hopes were dashed and she decided to just leave instead.

Leaving seemed to be the only way to spare the embarrassment from increasing any further.

* * *

><p>As Jade got into Beck's car, she pulled out his car keys; which she still had on her.<p>

Turning on his car and leaving, she tried to fight the urge that was creeping up on her…

…but she didn't have the strength to.

As she stopped at a red light, she yelled, "Fuck!" and began crying.

She had just broken up with her boyfriend and took his car…

Sounds like a pretty good night.

If it were Opposite Day.

Which it wasn't, if you were wondering.

That's January 25th.

* * *

><p>Jade spent the next four hours driving around the city and hanging around at some of her favorite places to be alone.<p>

Trying to clear her mind of what had just happened.

But she found this hard to do while she still had Beck's car.

So she decided to take the car back to his house and leave it in the driveway.

After leaving his car keys in the car's sun visor, Jade texted Beck about where his car was.

_{Your car is at the house. Keys are in the visor. Please don't text me back. You've said enough.}_

* * *

><p>As Jade walked down the street, she began thinking about what was going on and what she was going to do.<p>

_Is this really happening? Did we really just break up? I mean, I know I told him that if he didn't open that door that we were done, but… I didn't actually think that he wouldn't open it. Why didn't he open it?!_

Looking at the time on her phone, Jade saw that it was 11:44 and she was nearing home.

But she really didn't feel like going home.

There were too many memories of the times that she'd spent with Beck there.

It was the last thing that she needed to be reminded of.

* * *

><p>So she decided to call home.<p>

"Hello?" answered Jade's mom.

"Hey… mom, listen. I'm going to be spending the night over at Cat's, okay?"

Her mom could clearly tell that something was wrong with daughter, "Jade, are you alright?"

"I'm good, I'm good. I'm just gonna spend the night with Cat."

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk about anything or..."

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay… take care, and tell Cat I said 'Hey'."

"I will."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>As Jade got off the phone, she made a right and began walking up the street.<p>

But there was only one problem, Cat's house was straight ahead, yet Jade walked right past it and stopped at the house further down the block.

* * *

><p>Andre Harris was getting ready for bed.<p>

He just had a very long day and witnessed a drama filled night.

So he was definitely looking forward to getting some sleep.

* * *

><p>But as he laid in his bed, he couldn't shake the thought of what happened earlier that night.<p>

_Jade and Beck broke up… they actually broke up… and I had nothing to do with it. Its just so weird. Yet, the break up could be seen coming a mile away. It was only a matter of time. But it still was a surprise. _

Andre turned over to face the window.

_I'm not even sure how to feel about this break up. I'm upset to see the two of them like this, but… _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tap tap tap… Tap tap tap...<strong>_

Looking at the window, Andre could see the silhouette of someone.

Quickly jumping out of bed and turning on the lights, Andre grabbed his old baseball bat from out of the closet and walked cautiously towards the window.

Slowly pulling back on the curtains, Andre prepared for the worse.

_Gotta be ready for anything. Gotta be ready to swing!_

But as he pulled the curtain back, he noticed that it wasn't a burglar at his window, it was a troubled dark haired girl.

* * *

><p>"Jade?" asked Andre, putting down his bat and opening up the window, "What are you doing here?"<p>

As Jade climbed through the window, Andre could tell that she was trying to keep him from seeing that she had been crying.

"Just walking around the neighborhood and decided to stop by." replied Jade, as she sat on Andre's bed.

"How come you didn't go to the front door?"

"It's late… and I didn't want to wake up your mom."

Jade really must have been out of focus for her to forget something.

"You do know that my mom works at night, right?"

Shaking her head, Jade remembered, "Yeah, forgot about that."

Getting back on his bed and sitting up against the headboard, Andre further questioned Jade.

"Does your mom know that you're here?"

"No, she thinks I'm at Cat's spending the night." answered Jade, taking off her boots, "Decided to come here after I wandered the streets most of the night."

"You shouldn't have been walking about at this time. Not with those creeps and killers that are probably out there." worried Andre, growing concerned, "You should have called me earlier, I would have given you a ride home after I had dropped Beck…"

* * *

><p>Andre quickly stopped himself from finishing his sentence.<p>

He could already see that Jade was still upset and didn't want to bring up Beck's name anytime soon.

"It's okay, I'm not going to get all upset just because I hear his name." Jade stated, as she moved towards Andre and sat next to him against the headboard.

"Oh… cool." Andre muttered, as Jade looked at him.

It was an awkward moment. Well, awkward for Andre at least.

Jade looked _so_ beautiful, yet so troubled at the moment.

Even though this was the same girl who five months ago lured him to view a very steamy moment between her and her now ex-boyfriend; it didn't matter anymore.

After Jade's redemption, Andre slowly began to forgive and forget about that week of rage.

So now Jade was once again the girl whom he wanted to be with but couldn't… until last night.

He hated to see her look upset, by anything.

So all he wanted to do was make her smile again.

"Is there anything that I can do?" he asked, trapped in Jade's enticing gaze.

"Not much, really. Just… keep me company." lulled Jade, moving closer to Andre.

"Company? I can be that." he reassured, moving closer as well.

The slight awkwardness between the two had disappeared.

And they were acting on nothing but pure instincts.

So every moral and reasoning was thrown out the window at the moment.

Who needs them right now?

* * *

><p>Slowly, their lips were just about to touch.<p>

Both of them had their eyes closed.

Just waiting for the moment to happen, until…

_**RIIIIIIIIIINNGG! RIIIIIIIIIIINNGG!**_

They quickly snapped out of their trance and Andre reached for his phone off his bedside table.

"Oh! It's Hope." he said, as he looked at the text message he'd just received.

"Who's Hope?" asked Jade, trying to move on from what almost happened.

"Hope Quincy. I met her back at the Christmas party and we've been talking ever since." Andre replied, while responding to Hope's text.

"Oh, are you two dating?" asked Jade, curiously.

* * *

><p>Andre had to stop texting for a moment.<p>

He'd only been seeing Hope for almost three weeks, yet they really haven't decided on whether they were a legit couple or not.

It was just talk and text.

…with the occasional sext from Hope, but things never seemed to move any further…

…until now.

* * *

><p>"Whoa!" exclaimed Andre, who's face lit up.<p>

"What?"

"She wants me to meet her dad."

"And?"

"Jade… her dad's Shawn Quincy."

"The producer?"

"The **world famous **producer and I'm gonna meet him!" Andre shouted, filled with excitement as he jumped off his bed.

But his excitement quickly faded when he saw Jade just sitting there with a half smile.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… especially with what happened last night."

"I told you already, its okay. You're obviously excited about meeting her world famous dad... But can I ask you one thing?"

"Sure."

"Are we seriously going to ignore what almost happened?"

* * *

><p>Andre remembered about the kiss that almost was.<p>

The kiss that he always longed for.

The kiss that seemed impossible.

* * *

><p>"Jade, we can't. I wish it could happen, but it can't. You've just broke up with your boyfriend. Don't you remember that?"<p>

"Of course, I do! It's the one thing that I'm trying to forget!" cried Jade, as she wiped the tears from her face, "But what's bugging me the most is that… I don't know if I'm upset or happy that I broke up with him."

Andre turned off his phone and sat back on the bed next to Jade.

He could tell that Jade just needed someone to just be there for her.

No kissing, making out, or possibly having sex.

Just talking, listening, and comforting.

* * *

><p>After spending a little over two hours talking and listening, Andre grew even more concerned over Jade.<p>

"Were we really a horrible couple? Cause we did argue a lot and I would get jealous easily, but he… he didn't have to tell everybody that he wasn't happy with us. It was so embarrassing! Then when I think about it, I wasn't exactly eager to talk with him about our problems, so maybe I'm to blame for that as well."

"Jade, just stop. I'm tired of hearing you taking the blame for this." demanded Andre, "Just because you wasn't willing to talk about your problems, doesn't mean that he had the right to just blurt it out to everyone."

Andre had to stop himself from trying to shift all the blame onto Beck. He didn't want to make it look as if he was trying to antagonize Beck and have Jade all to himself.

* * *

><p>Which he really did want.<p>

He wanted Jade all to himself.

He wanted **all **of her.

But right now wasn't the right time.

It was just too soon.

* * *

><p>"But look at it this way, maybe this is something that the two of you need. Give you some breathing ground to think and possibly make up… and if not, you can just move on." he stated, with a bit of distaste in his mouth.<p>

As much as he liked the fact that Jade and Beck broke up, he also hated it.

Why?

It was hard enough having your best friend breakup with his girlfriend, but when that same girl is also your friend and the one girl that you wanted to be with… it gets a little complicating.

At times, Andre felt that it was difficult choosing between helping Jade get over the breakup or helping her reconcile with Beck.

"Maybe you're right." said Jade, as she laid her head on Andre's shoulder, "Maybe this breakup is something we both need… then again, maybe its best if we stay broken up."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just feel that way."

* * *

><p>As Jade slowly began to get sleepy, she asked something of Andre.<p>

"Can you do something for me?"

Not sure of what he was about to be asked, Andre replied, "Sure, what is it?"

"Can… can you just hold me? That's all… until I fall asleep?"

It was a strange request coming from Jade.

It took Andre by surprise, yet he remembered the current situation that Jade was in.

"Sure, anything for you." he replied, placing his arms around Jade.

Laying her head on his chest and placing her arm around him, Jade closed her eyes to sleep. Andre couldn't help but marvel at how cute she looked.

* * *

><p>This was yet again one of those moments where Andre got to see the vulnerable side of Jade.<p>

Only this time, he was more use to it.

Only this time, he was more keen to _being there_ for her.

* * *

><p>After sometime, Jade finally dozed off while Andre laid awake, still holding her in his arms.<p>

He just didn't feel like letting her go.

He didn't want to ruin this moment.

This was the most peaceful that Jade has ever looked and frankly, after the night that she had just had, she could use a peaceful night's sleep.

* * *

><p>As Jade quietly slept, Andre gently brushed some of her hair from her face.<p>

"I'm so sorry, Jade. I wish that you didn't have go through this."

He gazed out of the window to see the moonlight entering the dark room and lighting up Jade's face.

"If you could see how helpless I feel right now… You'd probably laugh and call me a 'pussy'." chucked Andre, gently caressing her shoulder, "I just wish that there was something, _anything_ that I could do just to make you happy."

Stirring up a bit, Jade lightly moaned and then went back to sleep.

Looking down at her, Andre could see that Jade had tightly grasped his shirt.

She'd looked like she was trying to hold on to the nearest site of comfort.

Sighing heavily, Andre spoke, "It's gonna get better, Jade. It may not seem that way now, but it will. One day, this will all be just a memory; and hopefully, on that day, I'll be able to see that smile again."

After awhile, Andre began to feel himself getting sleepy.

Eventually, he dozed off, still with Jade sleeping snugly under his arms.

Both slumbering soundly within each others warm embrace.


	15. Finally

**Chapter Fifteen: Finally...**

* * *

><p>The girl felt warm.<p>

Safe.

Comfortable.

As if all of her problems had just went away.

She inched closer to her source of warmth, seeking more comfort.

It was almost unreal.

Jade West had endured one of the worst nights of her life and here she was waking up from one of the best slumber she has ever been in.

Opening her eyes, she yawned and looked around the room.

It was quiet.

Dimly lit.

Gazing towards the window, she could tell that the sun hadn't risen, yet the sky was slowly starting to brighten up.

_Must be six o'clock._

As she slowly got up, she could feel Andre's gentle grip around her shoulder.

He laid there, deep in sleep; completely unaware that she was awake.

Jade thought he looked adorable.

She smiled and thought, _He really didn't want to let me go._

Slowly moving his arm off of her and making sure not to wake him, she got off of his bed and placed her boots back on.

_*sighs* I really don't wanna leave... especially after sleeping in that bed. I haven't felt that way since... _

She briefly thought about the times that her and Beck would snuggle together in his bed, but she quickly shook it off.

_...I have to get back home and get ready for school..._

* * *

><p>Grabbing her phone from the bedside table, she was just about to sneak out of the window, when she stopped herself.<p>

She turned around and peered over to the still slumbering Andre.

He was completely out of it. You could have played some power chords on his guitar and he would have still been in a deep sleep.

Jade crept around the bed and hovered near him. Lightly grazing her fingers against his soft dreads, she slowly caressed her way across the side of his face.

She felt overwhelmed at the moment, eager to do something... anything...

...and she did...

Leaning closer to him, she gently kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for being there for me." she whispered, slowly moving away from him and walking towards the window.

Carefully opening the window, she quietly snuck out of Andre's room.

But not without unintentionally leaving something behind...

* * *

><p>The sun was gradually starting to rise; casting a purplish-orange hue across the morning sky.<p>

When Jade arrived at her backdoor, she realized that she had left her house key in her room.

_Looks like I have to sneak into the house... the old fashioned way._

Sneaking into the house wasn't hard for Jade.

She'd done it plenty of times when she was younger.

All she had to do was climb halfway up the tree that had the branch that hung closest to the attic window...

...carefully lift up the window and watch out for the bits of broken glass...

...move slowly across the creaky attic floor until she got to the rug that covered up a huge hole...

...remove the rug, carefully climb down the well positioned ladder that's in the hole...

...and finally, exit out of her bedroom closet.

See? It's not that hard.

* * *

><p>After taking a quick, refreshing shower, Jade felt pretty good.<p>

She didn't feel like going to school, but she still felt pretty good.

Entering her room, Jade noticed that her phone was buzzing.

As she checked it, she noticed that there was a notification from _The ._

_{__Beck Oliver__ is no longer in a relationship with __Jade West__}_

She gripped at the towel that she was keeping wrapped around her.

A feeling of sadness and regret swept over her.

_This is really happening... might as well accept it._

With every keystroke, Jade felt more and more heartbroken.

She never thought that she would see _those_ words again.

_{__Jade West__ is no longer in a relationship with __Beck Oliver__}_

_There. It's done._

* * *

><p>The sun was now shining bright.<p>

Morning commuters were on there way to schools and businesses.

An air of busyness rushed through the air.

* * *

><p>He felt so relaxed being splayed out across his bed.<p>

The warm sunlight that hit his face woke him, but he instantly turned away from it.

All he wanted was five more minutes of sleep... hell, five hours wouldn't be that bad either.

But Andre knew that he had to get ready for school, so he slowly turned back around and stretched.

As he yawned, he noticed someone missing.

Someone who's presence he sorely missed.

_Wait a second, where's Jade?_

Looking around the room, he saw that she was no where to be found.

Quickly jumping out of bed, Andre made his way around the house, looking for any sign of his Goth friend.

Finding her nowhere in the house, he returned to his room.

_Was she really here last night or was I..._

As he walked towards his window, he stepped on something metallic.

Gazing down at his feet, Andre saw that he stepped on some scissors.

Crouching to pick them up, he glanced at it.

They were black. Someone must have colored it with a marker or something from the looks of it.

Andre looked at the scissors closer and noticed that someone carved the letters "_j.w_" into the plastic grip handle.

_She was here! She must have dropped her scissors when she left._

Still holding the scissors, he looked out of his window at the bright morning setting.

He sighed and thought, _I wish she could have at least said good-_

Out of nowhere, a feeling of tenderness overcame him.

He didn't know why, but he softly felt the left side of his face.

Particularly his cheek.

It was really strange.

For some reason, he felt warm and it wasn't from the rising sunlight.

This was much deeper, more heartfelt.

He just couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

><p>On the other side of his room, his phone began vibrating.<p>

Checking to see what it was, he saw that there were two status updates from Beck and Jade.

He didn't know what to think of it.

He felt somewhat glad about the breakup... yet he was still worried about the two.

_Looks like they've made it official. Beck and Jade are no longer together._

* * *

><p>At school, Jade pretty much kept to herself. She just didn't feel like talking to anyone.<p>

Including Andre, who decided to just keep his distance from her.

It was also wise for them to keep their distance from each other.

You know, to keep anyone from getting suspicious.

It wasn't until the end of the school day when something happened.

* * *

><p>Walking to her car, Jade was surprised to see something on the hood.<p>

It was her scissors, the ones she had been looking for all day.

Underneath them laid a note. A note which Jade saw was from Andre.

_You left these over at my place. _

_Didn't give them to you earlier to avoid people suspecting something._

_ Anyway, I hope that things get better for you; cause I really do care._

Folding up the note and placing both it and her scissors into the side of her right boot, Jade got into her car and drove out of the school's parking lot.

As she left, Jade couldn't help feeling the way she did when she was lying in Andre's bed.

She was in a complete state of serenity.

She finally felt that things would definitely get better soon.

* * *

><p>It was less than a week after the breakup.<p>

Not much had change... except if you overlook Beck and Jade ignoring one another... and the fact that Andre was now in a relationship with Hope Quincy.

For some reason, Andre kept this piece of news a secret from his friends at the moment.

Maybe he was embarrassed or something.

Whatever it was, it did little to excite his _bleak _relationship with her.

Behind that pretty facade was something unimaginable.

He never anticipated that a girl that attractive would be so... so...

Pushy.

Controlling.

Overbearing.

Strict.

Or any other synonym for _bossy_ that you can find in a thesaurus.

Like the word _despotic._

But whatever word you use to describe her, it'll never hold up against that one word that firmly fits her.

**Horrible.**

Absolutely horrible.

Of course there were times where she was somewhat... okay.

But those were brief; they usually ranged from five to twenty minutes.

Even making out felt like a chore to Andre. Hope would occasionally berate him by saying, '_Hold me like this'_, _'You're kissing too lightly'_, _'It's like you're not even trying'_, and '_I feel like I'm doing all the work here'_.

* * *

><p>What made this worse were the three reasons why Andre was even putting up with Hope's shit.<p>

**(#3)** He was terrified of her.

Seriously he was frightened by her.

Now before you say 'She can't be any scarier than Jade', hold up a second.

Jade and Hope were in completely different categories.

Jade is the kind of frightening where you didn't know what the hell she had up her sleeve, but you knew that you wouldn't be getting any sleep for weeks.

Hope was the kind of frightening where she made you feel like a little kid who's constantly doing the wrong thing; so she continuously nags and bitches at every single thing you do.

In a simplified _too long, didn't read_ answer:

* * *

><p><strong>[Paranoia + Insomnia + Huge fear of scissors = Jade's technique]<strong>

**[(Nagging x 2) - Niceness + (Bossiness x 10) + Patronizing = Hope's technique]**

* * *

><p>But there was a bigger difference between the two girls.<p>

Jade actually had a gentle and caring side... she just didn't like showing it to every Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Andre was one of the rare few who was privileged enough to have seen that side of her.

Hope, however, had not shown any sign of a _sweet_ or _tender_ side at all.

Which made being around her in private or public, a living hell.

He would gladly choose dealing with Jade's rage over Hope's badgering any day.

* * *

><p><strong>(#2)<strong> Her father was **world famous** music producer Shawn Quincy.

He knew dating Hope to try and get a record deal from her father was wrong.

He knew this.

It ate at him nearly every time he would kiss Hope or when he actually got to talk with her father.

Andre was practically using his girlfriend for his own personal goal!

Like seriously, what the fuck?!

That's like... that's like... okay, I can't think of any clever examples to explain that, but you know it's wrong.

This made Andre feel like he was letting his grandma down.

He felt like a bad person.

* * *

><p>And now for <strong>(#1)<strong> reason why he was dating Hope...

He was dating her to distract him from trying to make a move on a now _single _Jade.

Yup.

You heard right.

Ever since the night of the breakup, Andre felt the urge to just go for it.

He constantly told himself that it was too soon, that it had only been a little under a week, but it was too much... Jade was too much.

* * *

><p>After a very uneventful day at school, Andre met up with Hope over at Jet Brew.<p>

It was pretty quiet for the afternoon crowd. Usually there would be more people there around that time.

The couple sat in one of the sofas that were in the lounge of the cafe; the scent of coffee, lattes, cocoa, and baked goods filled the air.

Hope was strangely at ease at the moment. She was just talking about her day and blah, blah, blah.

It was one of those '_Look at **me**. Listen to **me**. This is all about **me.**' _moments.

All Andre could do was tune her out at times and occasionally gaze out of the cafe window.

"...so she has the nerve to ask if she was invited to my birthday party, which is really stupid, because she didn't invite me to her party last year. She claimed like she misplaced my invitation, but I knew the truth. That bitch didn't send me one because I dated her ex two year ago, and she was always jealous of that..."

This had been going on for what felt like two whole hours... but it was really just three minutes.

Andre felt like he was inching closer to the edge of madness.

That was until he saw _someone_ walking outside...

* * *

><p>Her dark hair glisten in the bright sunlight.<p>

Her skirt moved to and fro as she walked with purpose, eager to smell the aroma of freshly made coffee.

As Jade West entered the cafe, Andre found it rather difficult to even fake paying attention to Hope.

There was just something about Jade being single that just made her more attractive.

"Coffee, two sugars." she ordered, giving her order to the barista.

"Right away." the barista replied, rushing to start the order.

Patiently waiting for her order, Jade began tapping her foot to the music that was softly playing in her earbuds.

Turning around, she leaned back against the counter and looked around the cafe.

* * *

><p>From how she was leaning, her amazing frame was greatly shown.<p>

Her sensational set of **legs**...

Those nice curvy **hips**...

Her slim, narrow **waist**...

That shapely **chest** which was so hypnotizing.

Andre felt captivated by what he was seeing.

He knew that Jade had quite the body on her, but... damn!

She was definitely a _hottie with a body_.

_Damn, she looks... just, damn!... _he thought, completely ignoring everything that Hope said or did.

* * *

><p>Almost as if she had heard him, Jade immediately caught sight of Andre and from what he could tell, she smiled.<p>

Quickly looking away, Andre began acting like he was paying attention to Hope's continuous story.

"...the dress didn't look that good on her. To be honest, she looked like a whale in it." continued Hope, taking a sip of her cup of coffee, "So anyway, how was your day?"

"That's really interesting." Andre replied, distractedly, as Jade got her coffee and began walking towards them.

Jade didn't expect to see Andre while she was at Jet Brew, but that wasn't what really surprised her.

It was the fact that Andre was there with a girl that she had never seen before.

_Are they dating? They are sitting pretty close to each other... wait, could she be that Hope girl that he was talking about? Well, whoever she is, Andre doesn't seem to be enjoying himself._

"Hey." smiled Jade, taking out her earbuds and standing casually in front of the couple.

"Sup, Jade." replied Andre, giving his undivided attention to his friend, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, to get coffee?" Jade answered, holding up her cup and giving him a weird look.

Andre immediately took this as '_That was a very dumb question for you to ask'_.

* * *

><p>And it was a very dumb question.<p>

What else would she be doing in a _coffee_ shop?

Discussing counter culture and progressive politics with the hipsters that hung out there?

* * *

><p>"Oh yeah! Coffee." Andre chuckled, feeling quite dumb in front of the girls.<p>

Feeling left out of the conversation, Hope decided to jump in.

"Ahem! Well? Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Realizing that he didn't introduce his girlfriend to Jade, Andre quickly said, "Oh! Hope, this is my friend from Hollywood Arts, Jade West. Jade, this is my girlfriend, Hope Quincy."

The two girls stared at each other. It was almost as if they were sizing each other up; preparing for the other to strike first.

Jade didn't like Hope one bit. Not because she looked like a rude and insensitive bitch, but because she didn't look right for Andre.

"So this was the girl you was talking about?" Jade asked, with a smirk, "You could have done a lot worse."

Andre's face was etched with complete shock.

While Hope's just morphed from a state of surprise to a state of rage.

"Jade!" yelled Andre, knowing that nothing good was to come from this.

"What? I can't be honest about your choice of girlfriends?" asked Jade, smugly, "You could have done much better with a Northridge girl."

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Hope, standing up to confront Jade, "Exactly who in the hell do you think you are?!"

"Jade 'Fuckin' West. Need me to repeat that?" Jade responded, taking a sip of her coffee.

Andre just sat there. Fearful of getting in between the two bickering girls.

The argument went on for a good three minutes.

Insults were thrown back and forth like it was a tennis match.

Jade was doing really good, but Hope was holding on her own pretty well.

* * *

><p>"What kind of bitch would just walk up to a guy she claims to be her friend, and criticize their girlfriend?" asked Hope, looking really pissed.<p>

"This bitch, right here." answered Jade, looking really satisfied, "What kind of slut walks out of her house wearing that kind of shirt?"

Hope looked down at her red and white blouse and said, "This is a $500 blouse! You clearly have no sense of style for you to say that. Then again, what can I expect from a girl who wears cheap leather and biker boots?"

"$500? Who bought it for you, your dad?" laughed Jade, "Guess you won't have to worry about her being a gold digger, Andre."

Andre couldn't help but chuckle a little, but as soon as Hope gazed at him, he quickly straighten up.

"Are you just gonna let her talk about me like that?!" Hope ordered, looking irritable, "I am your girlfriend, you're supposed to stand up for me!"

"Aww! Trouble in paradise?" asked Jade, laughing.

* * *

><p>What happened next was completely strange; one minute Jade was smiling and laughing and the next minute... she looked really worried.<p>

"Seriously, Andre... tell me that this isn't real. Tell me that this is some kind of joke. _Please._"

Andre felt hesitant to say something.

He could have easily sided with Jade, but he couldn't.

Not now.

He slowly got up and stated, "Jade... I'm really in love with Hope, and even though you're my friend... you're way out of line."

Hope walked over to him and placed her arm around him. She looked as if she had won the intense fight against Jade.

Jade just shook her head and thought, _He's obviously lying... He looks so uncertain. Why in the hell is he putting up with this girl? He's not even happy with her! _

"Fine! Do whatever you want. Be miserable if that makes you happy." scoffed Jade, looking distraught, leaving the two and storming out of the cafe.

Andre could have sworn that he saw Jade tear up a bit as she left.

Was she really devastated to see Andre with a girl as horrible as Hope?

"Bout time she left." smiled Hope, hugging Andre and giving him a kiss, "Let's go back to my place, I still have to plan for my birthday party."

"Yeah... sure thing." he muttered, as they left the cafe.

For the rest of the day, Andre couldn't get his mind off of how Jade reacted when he said that he _loved_ Hope.

_She looked really hurt, and it was all my fault! It was a bad idea to even go this far with Hope. Very bad idea. I felt like I wanted to just break up with Hope then and there. But no! I chickened out and took her side. __*sighs* Brilliant move, Andre. Really brilliant move._

* * *

><p>After three days of silent treatments, dog sittings, birthday parties, earthquakes, broken guitars, and concussions; Andre found himself quite relieved that he had broken up with Hope.<p>

It was like the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders.

He felt free and able to breathe!

Yet he still wasn't talking with Jade.

They pretty much was keeping to themselves over the past couple of days and barely looked at each other.

It wasn't until five minutes before the school day ended that something **_finally _**happened.

* * *

><p>Andre was alone in the recording studio.<p>

Gently plucking on his acoustic guitar.

His mind was scattered about, thinking of various things.

For some reason, he began strumming _Come Alive _by _Foo Fighters._

He just loved the slow and soft melody that it had.

After awhile he began to sing.

_Seems like only yesterday_

_Life belonged to runaways_

_Nothing here to see, no looking back_

_Every sound monotone_

_Every color monochrome_

_Life began to fade into the black..._

Continuing to play the song, Andre was unaware that someone had entered the studio.

_...I lay there in the dark, and I close my eyes_

Unexpectedly, another voice joined with Andre's...

_...You saved me the day you came alive_

The voice was none other than Jade's, who completely surprised Andre.

He stopped playing and looked at the girl as she sat next to him.

"I forgot that you love _Foo Fighters_, too." he said, putting his guitar up, "I knew you would show up sooner or later."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, moving her messenger bag to her side.

"You've obviously heard that Hope and I have broken up."

The girl decided not to lie. What Andre said was true.

So why deny it?

"You're right. I did hear about that. But I really came to ask you something."

"You sure do love to ask me a lot of questions."

Giving Andre a look, Jade continued with what she was saying.

"Why did you do it? Why did you go out with her? I could tell that you were miserable, so why put yourself through all of that?"

Andre got up and replied, "Because I wanted to get a record deal from her dad."

"Okay... I believe you." Jade responded, looking deep in his eyes, "But there's more, isn't there?"

Jade had the strangest knack for seeing right through Andre.

It frighten him at times.

* * *

><p>Hesitating to answer, Andre got up and began pressing random keys on the piano by the window.<p>

_I have to tell her... I have to tell her._

He sighed and turned to look at Jade, her gaze fixated on him.

"I wanted to distract myself from making a move on you." he answered, sitting back down by Jade, "Once I knew you were single... I _so_ wanted to just do something. Anything."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"It's too soon! It would be too much of a rush."

"It's already been a little under two weeks. How much more time do you need?!"

Jade was getting really frustrated. She got up, anxious to straighten things out with Andre.

"Look! I don't care about Beck anymore. We broke up. Okay? He's moved on and so have I. So there's no point in you being afraid to make a move."

Andre just sat there, looking away from Jade.

"Why are you being scared now?! Months ago, you would have been eager to jump at this opportunity and now... you're like a little bitch!"

Andre was starting to get pissed. He was chickening out and the girl that he wanted to be with was scolding him.

He just couldn't sit there and take it anymore.

* * *

><p>Quickly getting up, he walked over to Jade.<p>

The two stood firmly in front of the other. So much intensity bridged the gap that laid between them.

Neither one knew what the hell was about to happen.

For a couple of seconds, all they did was look deep in each other's eyes.

Jade finally spoke up and asked, "You finally going to do something or are you going to chicken out again?"

It was the moment of truth, and Andre already knew what his answer was.

_I'm not waiting anymore..._

Catching her by surprise, Andre grabbed Jade by the waist, pulling her closer... and closer... and closer... until...

He kissed her!

He actually kissed her!

Her lips were so soft and tender against his.

His grip around her waist was firm and strong.

They hoped that this wasn't one of their dreams.

They wished that for once, reality would win out.

* * *

><p>Slowly, Jade began to ease into the kiss and placed her arms around him.<p>

She really couldn't believe that any of this was actually happening, but she dare not question it.

_Finally! Finally, he made a move! _

They definitely didn't care if anyone walked in on them. This was _their _moment. The moment they've been waiting for months to happen.

* * *

><p>It wasn't a dream.<p>

I repeat: **THIS IS NOT A DREAM.**

It wasn't a illusion.

I repeat: **THIS IS NOT A ILLUSION.**

It wasn't some fantasy.

I repeat: **THIS IS NOT A FANTASY.**

It was all _**REAL**_.

* * *

><p>There was no waking up from this moment of perfect happiness.<p>

Just the way they liked it.

To think that all of this was happening in the room where that very memorable night happened.

Looks like everything came full circle in the end.

As they slowly began to stop kissing, Andre went back in for one last kiss. It was almost as if he were starving for more, but unsure if he would ever get a taste again.

"Does that answer your question?" he smiled, as the end of school bell rang.

Jade was completely speechless. All she could do was shake her head in agreement and uttered, "Mmhmm."

She seriously had never felt better. She felt so relaxed in his arms that she didn't want him to let her go.

* * *

><p>Letting her go, Andre went to gather his things, walked towards the door, but stopped to look back at Jade, "I'll call you later, okay?"<p>

"Okay." Jade smiled, as Andre left the studio.

She had to sit down for a while.

The memory of the kiss and the embrace danced through her mind.

_**This** is really happening..._

She had finally moved on completely.

Beck was just a thing of the past.

All that she could think about was Andre.

No one, but Andre.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Note:<strong>

**Check out my Bori fanfic Wanna Love You Girl for the side-along continuation of Gotta Get Thru This.**

**That story follows the ending of Chapter Fourteen of this story and continues on.**


	16. Late Night Chat & Early Morning Coffee

**Chapter Sixteen: Late Night Chat & Early Morning Coffee**

* * *

><p><em>When in the hell is he gonna call?<em> _*sighs* Please tell me he didn't chicken out again... especially not after that... __kiss..._

* * *

><p>It was almost midnight and Jade West was sitting up against her headboard.<p>

She found herself waiting for a certain guy to call her for some time now.

Throughout the day, Jade couldn't stop thinking about the kiss that occurred earlier.

The kiss with the one guy whom she'd been longing to be with.

The kiss that was once thought to be impossible.

But it happened! It actually happened!

And it was something that Jade would never forget.

* * *

><p>One thing that she wishes she could forget was the long wait she'd endured throughout the day.<p>

You know, waiting on Andre to call.

She'd found herself doing numerous things to pass the time and to keep her mind off of her phone.

It didn't work, but it was worth a try.

_He is really trying my patience! You don't promise to call someone and then keep them waiting for hours! I swear when I get my hands on him-_

**_A musical chime plays on Jade's phone._**

* * *

><p>She just sat there.<p>

Staring at the ringing phone in her lap.

_Hmm, its just turned midnight and he finally decided to call. Can't wait to hear his excuse._

Picking up her phone and answering it, Jade quipped, "Thought you would never call."

She was finding it hard not to lash out at Andre.

She just didn't like having to wait on someone.

It really annoyed her.

"Yeah... sorry bout that." Andre began, hesitantly, "Some stuff came up."

Jade could distinctly hear what sounded like an intercom go off in the background.

"What kind of stuff?" she asked, "Where are you?"

Taking a deep breath, Andre replied, "I'm at the hospital. Been here for most of the night."

Being ever so curious, Jade asked, "Why? What happened?"

"It's my grandma. She had a little accident." sighed Andre.

Jade took a moment to calm herself down.

She knew how much his grandma mattered to him.

She could immediately hear the concern in his voice and knew that now wasn't the time to be a hardass.

"Is... Is she alright?"

Andre himself was slightly stunned that Jade showed any kind of concern for his grandmother.

He knew that she would be pissed that he took so long to call her. He was a little surprise that she calmed down once she heard his excuse, but what he didn't expect was for her to ask how his grandma was doing.

"She's good. Thank God. She was staying over at our house when something on TV frighten her. She ended up running out of the house and accidentally ran into a cyclist." replied Andre, taking a seat in the empty waiting room of the hospital, "As soon as I left school, my mom called me to the hospital, and I've been here ever since."

"That's... good. It's good that your grandma is doing fine." uttered Jade, whom was having trouble with this kind of conversation, "How are you... about it?"

Quickly picking up on how Jade was acting, Andre replied, "Jade, we don't have to keep talking about this if you don't want to. Thanks for asking, though. But we can talk about other stuff... like that _kiss_."

Within an instant, Jade remembered back to that memorable afternoon.

* * *

><p>"<em>You finally going to do something or are you going to chicken out again?" <em>

Standing there, Andre looked so conflicted.

Jade just stood there waiting to see if something would _finally _happen.

_This is starting to feel hopeless... I'm standing __**right here**__ and he's..._

Her chain of thought was broken by the sudden feeling of Andre's arm wrapped around her waist.

They were so close now.

So close that they could practically feel each other's heart racing.

Jade's mind began trying to comprehend whether or not this was actually happening.

The look that Andre gave was having a strange effect on her.

He looked so calm, yet anxious. If that was even possible.

It was like he was relieved that he finally made a long awaited decision, and now he was really eager to carry out that choice.

With that one passionate glance, he directed every ounce of emotion that he was feeling towards her.

He didn't even have to speak a word.

Jade knew exactly what he was _saying_.

_I WANT __**YOU.**_

Inching closer to her, Andre's lips lightly met with hers.

Tensing up slightly from this move, Jade was still in awe.

Her harsh, yet honest urging actually worked.

At long last...

They finally had their very first kiss.

And it was...

_Damn, he's good... I mean... oh, who cares?_

* * *

><p>After a couple seconds of mindless kissing, Jade wrapped her arms around Andre and began taking over most of the kissing.<p>

_Bet he wouldn't mind if I take over a bit._

As a matter of fact, he seemed to like it quite a bit.

Jade could tell he was getting _excited_... considering how close they were.

The more she persisted with him, the more he tighten his grip around her.

If they weren't careful, things could have gotten way out of hand in that recording studio.

After what was considered the best five minutes in both of their lives, the two slowly stopped kissing, yet they remain embraced.

But before he moved his lips away from Jade's, Andre gave her one final hunger filled kiss.

_Wow... that's was... wow!_

Looking deep in Jade's eyes, he gave her a smile.

She didn't know why, but it made her smile as well.

Maybe it was because they had finally moved to the next level.

Maybe it was because he looked so damn cute when he smiled at her.

Or maybe it was because she just felt like it.

Who knew?

"_Does that answer your question?" _he asked, still holding onto her.

She couldn't even mutter the word '_Yes'_.

That adorable smile on her face just wouldn't wear off.

In the end, she just nodded her head and uttered, _"Mmhmm."_

* * *

><p>Once the school bell rang, the two finally let go of each other and Andre began to gather his things.<p>

It was kinda funny.

Mere seconds after he let her go, and Jade was already missing being in his arms.

She really felt like just walking up to Andre and tell him to not go.

To stay... and make out with her some more.

But that damn ecstatic feeling wasn't wearing off one bit, and it was keeping her from saying what she wanted.

She'd thought that she looked like a complete idiot, just smiling and not saying much.

But Andre didn't seem to mind.

"_I'll call you later, okay?" _he smiled, giving her one last look before he left the studio.

"_Okay." _Jade giggled, trying to hide her smile.

She felt so weird. Weird in a good way. Weird in the best possible way.

* * *

><p>Taking a seat back on the bench, she took a moment to calm herself from this elated state.<p>

She didn't want to leave out of that studio practically beaming with happiness.

Some might have found it out of character.

She had a reputation to hold up, after all.

* * *

><p>After bringing herself back to her normal self, Jade finally left the studio.<p>

Upon opening the door, she immediately bumped into someone who was crouched down.

"What the hell- oh, it's you."

Jade found herself irritably staring at her **ex**-boyfriend, whom was tying his shoes.

_I just had to bump into __**him**__..._

Standing up and straightening the book bag that hung from his shoulders, Beck simply replied, "Jade."

To which she responded with, "Beck."

The two just gazed at each other for a couple of seconds and then went on their separate ways.

Not much to be said between the former couple; and to Jade, she wanted to keep it that way.

She had nothing to do with Beck anymore.

As of the past ten minutes, there was someone much more important on her mind.

* * *

><p>"That was a <em>really <em>great kiss." stated Jade, continuing her conversation with Andre, "I really wished we could have kept it going."

"Same here. As a matter of fact, I wish I was there with you right now." Andre replied, toning down his voice due to the wandering visitors.

"Oh, really?" inquired Jade, in a seductive tone.

"Yeah, just us. Me holding you close, while I gaze into those pretty blue eyes of yours, and..."

Before he even got a chance to finish, Andre's engaging description was cut off by his mother approaching him.

"Jade, hold on for a second." he stated, standing up.

Slightly annoyed that her moment with Andre was being interrupted, Jade sighed, "Sure, whatever."

After about a minute of keeping Jade on hold, Andre got back on the phone and apologized, "Sorry about that, my grandma is being released and my mom wants me to take her to our house."

Agitated that this would mean that their conversation would end, Jade asked, "So I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah... but listen, I've been up for most of the night and when I get to my grandma's, I'm going straight to sleep."

"And your point is?"

"My point is that once I've gotten enough sleep, how about you and I meet up at Jet Brew before school? Where... you know... we can talk more about us."

Feeling slightly better, Jade chuckled lightly at this, "Sure, as long as you promise that we won't be interrupted by anyone."

"I promise, no one will bother us." Andre replied, feeling pretty confident, "I'll meet you there in the upper level at 7:15."

"7:15. Got it."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>After getting over six hours of much needed rest, Andre arrived at the cafe and was eager to meet up with Jade.<p>

Stepping out of his car and walking down the block, he began thinking about his situation.

_Things are actually starting to feel good. After months and months of what seemed like Hell, things are finally getting better. I've broken up with Hope. I might just get a record deal from her father and to top it all off, I'm on my way to hang out with Jade... and maybe a little more._

As he entered the packed cafe, the warm scent of fresh coffee and baked goods hit him like a tidal wave.

The rush of the early morning commuters was a common thing for the cafe, but today just felt busier than the others.

* * *

><p>Going upstairs to the quieter, less crowded part of the cafe, Andre looked at all the seated customers either sipping coffee, reading a book, listening to music, or engaging in small talk.<p>

On the far side of the room, Jade was sitting quietly on a couch by the window.

With her music blaring through her earbuds and her piping hot coffee on the table beside her, she was deep into reading her book.

It wasn't until Andre took a seat next to her, that Jade closed her book and took out her earbuds.

"Hey." she smiled, giving him a hug, "You looking pretty good."

"Thanks. I'm feeling pretty good, too." responded Andre, sitting back on the couch, "Slept really well last night. Probably because I had a lot on my mind... good things, I mean."

"Same here." uttered Jade, practically beaming, "Uh... what was it that you wanted to talk about concerning us?"

Remembering once again why they were there, Andre replied, "Right, lots have changed this past week. Things are officially over between Hope and I; and... you and I finally..."

"Yeah, I know." spoke Jade, brushing some hair from her face, "I was kinda there."

Chuckling, Andre continued, "Anyway, the way I see it... if we're going to have anything serious, we have to take this slow."

"Slow as in?"

"We don't jump and tell the others about us... just yet."

With a look of understanding, Jade asked, "Because you're worried about how Beck might react?"

"No. I mean, yes. But not just him; Tori might take the news hard as well."

"Why should she care-"

Before Jade finished her question, she figured out why.

"Oh... she likes you, a lot."

"Yeah, and to hear that the two of us are together... it'll kill her." sighed Andre.

Rolling her eyes, Jade seriously didn't feel like hearing about Tori or feeling sorry for her.

"Hey! Remember the girl that's next to you." she reminded him, moving to hold his hand.

Caressing her hand, Andre chuckled and said, "How can I forget? She wouldn't leave the dreams I was having last night... and she's pretty damn hard to forget once she comes into your life."

There at that moment, Jade did something that Andre rarely saw.

She blushed.

It was seriously the most cutest thing that he had ever saw!

He liked that Jade could be comfortable with being _herself_ around him.

It meant a lot to him.

* * *

><p>Ignoring the fact that some of the customers were looking at them, Jade quickly reverted to her <em>calm<em> self.

"Since we are taking things slowly... does this mean we can still do this?"

Moving herself onto Andre's lap and wrapping her arms around him, she began kissing him.

It wasn't full blown, passionate kissing, but that kind of affectionate, tender kind of kissing.

In just those few kisses, Jade was practically telling Andre how much she loved him.

With his eyes closed and a bright smile on his face, Andre beamed, "Yes, we can definitely keep doing that."

Placing his arms around her, the two went back to kissing.

Squeezing her waist, Andre accidentally caused Jade's PearPod to start playing music.

With what sounded like _Something About Us _by _Daft Punk_ coming out her earbuds, they drifted into their own world.

With not a care of whom were looking, they enjoyed being in each other's arms.

And they definitely looked forward to what was to come.


	17. I'm A Fool For You

**Chapter Seventeen: I'm A Fool For You**

* * *

><p>His head was throbbing beyond reason.<p>

Slowly picking himself off of the floor, Andre realized that he had fell out of his bed... again.

What a klutz!

The bright sunlight was peeking through the closed blinds, filling the room with a fuzzy blue glow of light as it was filtered through the purple curtains.

His mind was completely hazy of what had happened the previous night.

Nothing came to his mind.

He was drawing nothing but a blank.

* * *

><p>As he continued to get off the floor, he began to feel his muscles ache.<p>

"Ow! What the hell?"

His body ached so much that he had to sit down by the bedside table.

Rubbing his head, he wished that the throbbing would stop.

_Ugh... my head is banging! My body is aching! What exactly happened last ni-_

Before he could finish his thought, Andre caught sight of something that immediately clarified what was going on.

On the table beside him was a glass container. About the size of a small can of soda. The container was filled with a watery liquid and what strangely looked like a huge wad of fat.

_I've seen that before... It's the... that belong to... which means that I'm not in my-_

Looking over at the bed, Andre could distinctly make out what looked like someone sleeping.

With a blanket covering most of them, the sound of gentle breathing could be heard.

Fighting through the aches of his muscles, Andre inched over to the bed and carefully pulled the sheet from over the person.

Once he saw their face, he immediately began smiling.

Soundly sleeping with her hair draped over her face was Jade West... in all of her nakedness.

Placing the blanket back over her, Andre sat back down on the floor.

Looking down at himself, he noticed that he too wasn't wearing much; he had only the covers that were loosely wrapped below his waist.

Leaning back against the dresser, Andre began to remember what happened yesterday.

To start off things, let's just say that it was a REALLY long day.

* * *

><p>Almost a month after their long awaited kiss, Andre Harris found himself spending his Friday afternoon with his... wait for it...<p>

**GIRLFRIEND!**

I know, right?! It's exciting to finally read that.

The couple didn't necessarily get the right opportunity to tell the others of their new relationship.

Even though he was eager to tell the others, Andre was still a bit worried about how Tori and Beck would react; while Jade... well, Jade really couldn't care less what anyone thought.

She was just happy to finally be with Andre.

* * *

><p>After officially considering themselves boyfriendgirlfriend, just two days ago; the two spent the day unsuccessfully trying to tell the rest of the gang about the news.

They decided to tell their friends on the last day of school, which was earlier today... the only problem was that Beck had unexpectedly left the previous night to spend his summer vacation in Australia with his cousins, and Tori missed the rest of the school day to prepare to leave for her family vacation in Miami.

That left only Robbie and Cat, and the two of them were barely paying attention to anything. You know, considering that it was the last day of school.

The couple then agreed to just put off the announcement until all of their friends were together... which wouldn't be until near the start of their senior year.

It sucks, I know.

But they thought it would be best to tell such hard hitting news to each of them, face to face.

Seemed better that way, I guess.

* * *

><p>Anyway, it was 3:48 and after the two got out of school early; they found themselves laying back on the couch in Jade's den.<p>

They were just finishing watching _Shaun of the Dead_, when Andre questioned the ending.

"So, he actually kept his friend in his shed?"

"Mmhmm." mumbled Jade, as she cozied up against him.

"Even though he's now a zombie?"

"Yup, and look, now they're playing video games."

"So pretty much things have gone back to normal."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" asked Jade, turning to look back at Andre, "If you were turned into a zombie, I would keep you in my closet."

Hmm, how sweet.

Looking past the strangeness of what she said, Andre smiled, "You would really do that?"

"Yeah, you are my boyfriend after all." answered Jade, with a tiny smile, "But if you try to bite me, I would have no choice but to cut off your head."

Well... that escalated quickly.

"Would you at least keep my head?"

"Of course! I would keep it on my dresser as a reminder of the love we held so dear."

The two burst into laughter as their conversation led into how their relationship would work after a zombie apocalypse.

I guess the idea of love could be thought of in even the strangest of topics.

* * *

><p>As the movie credits ended, Andre got up to grab the remote.<p>

"I have the perfect idea for what we should look at next." he spoke, clicking the "Search for Movies" icon on the TV menu.

"What is it?" asked Jade, sitting up, "Is it an action flick? Or sci-fi? Please no romance. Anything but romance."

"It's not romance." Andre replied, as he continued to quickly flip through the numerous of movies in alphabetical order, "Trust me, you'll love it."

Something about his tone made Jade even more curious about what the movie was.

After passing through the A's, B's, C's, D's and E's, Andre began slowing down around the F's.

"So the movie begins with F?" asked Jade, trying to think of any movie she loved that began with "F".

But something stopped Jade from guessing what the movie was.

Closer and closer, Andre slowly reached the movie that he was looking for...

...and Jade was absolutely horrified by the choice.

This movie was an atrocity to mankind!

It was absolutely the worst thing ever created.

And to think that they made a squeal to this movie.

Sick!

Can you guess what movie Jade was so fearful of?

…

Still can't guess?

Oh, okay. I'll just tell you.

The movie that Jade West hated among all others was...

_Flipper_

Yep, that's right.

The movie about that dolphin was the one movie that made her skin crawl.

* * *

><p>Looking over at a beaming Andre, Jade noticed that he was standing behind the armchair.<p>

_If he thinks that that is gonna protect him, he's got another thing coming!_

"Flipper?! Flipper?!" she shouted, running after a fleeing Andre, "Yeah, you better run!"

* * *

><p>Trying to keep away from his hot girlfriend, Andre ran round and round the house.<p>

And by _hot_, I mean, angry that her boyfriend would play a joke like this.

"Come on, Jade! The movie's not that bad." he joked, dodging Jade's grasp by jumping over the couch, "It's just an innocent little dolphin!"

"I'll show you innocent!"

One thing that surprised Andre was how fast Jade moved. If it wasn't for his spinning and dodging, Jade would have been caught him.

It was almost as if the two were playing some form of tag throughout the house.

* * *

><p>After a good minute of running and dodging, Andre lost sight of Jade.<p>

She wasn't in the kitchen.

She wasn't in the living room.

She wasn't even in the basement.

Soon he began to wonder exactly where she was.

_Hmm, maybe she's somewhere upstairs._

* * *

><p>Slowly walking up the staircase, Andre heard a noise coming from the room across from the upstairs bathroom.<p>

Peering into the empty room, he immediately took in that this had to have been Ms. West's room.

It was particularly light in color. The drapes that hung over the sides of the windows were a light shade of yellow.

The bed looked to be a fairly old queen sized covered with a bunch of frilled patterned blankets.

Even the dresser and bedside table had frilled sheets laying on them.

_Too much frill, if you ask me. _thought Andre, as he walked over to the dresser where several pictures frames were placed.

They were photos of Jade with her family. Some were of her when she was very little and others were of her as she got older.

The pics of Jade when she was a little girl showed that she was really different back then.

She looked really cheerful.

There was even one photo that stunned Andre.

It was of Jade with her dad... and both of them were smiling!

Not a forced smile, but actually smiling.

Jade looked to be at least seven years old in the picture and her father was carrying her on his shoulders.

Both of them looked pretty close at the time. It almost made Andre wonder what happened between them.

Looking at several of the other photos, he could see that adorable smile slowly disappear. It eventually got to where Jade wasn't smiling at all and neither was her father.

Andre couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but with that it made him begin thinking about his own father.

It'd been several years since he seen his dad. In fact, he didn't even know where he lived or if he was even alive.

Andre never even had a full conversation with the guy, let alone develop a relationship with him.

This in turn made him even more depressed over Jade.

Her father was always nearby. He may not have still been married to Jade's mom anymore or live in the same house or even supportive of many of his daughter's choices, but he was _there_.

Yet, the father and daughter now had a strained relationship and didn't particularly care for one another.

It was sad.

Really, really sad.

* * *

><p>All of this melancholic thinking was getting to Andre, he quickly looked away from the pictures and decided to leave the room.<p>

But before he could leave, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Gotcha."

Taking Andre by surprise, a pair of hands reached out from under the bed and yanked him onto the floor.

Looking to see who the hands belonged to, Andre immediately saw that mischievous smile that belonged to none other than Jade West.

"Jade!" he yelled, as she began to crawl up on him, eventually to the point where she had a firm hold on him.

Finally catching her boyfriend, Jade held down Andre and asked, "You thought you were slick, huh? Thought you could play a trick on me and get away with it?"

Andre was about to utter something, but Jade quickly cut him off.

"Well, I like to have fun, too." she smiled, making Andre feel a little uneasy.

_Dammit! What was she about to do?! What was she about to do?! What was she about to do?!_

For a moment, all Jade did was laugh, but it's what she did next that caught Andre off guard.

Within a split second, Jade began fiercely tickling her boyfriend's sides.

_No! NO! Anything b-but that! S-she's gonna k-kill me!_

Immediately, Andre found himself in a laughing fit. He had absolutely no control over himself.

His body wiggled uncontrollably as Jade giggled at her boyfriend's helplessness.

Being tickled was one of his weaknesses and having Jade relentlessly tickle him... well, it was really good.

Like, _really _good.

Yet, he also wished that it would stop or else he would die of laughter.

Which is really something that can happen.

I'm serious. You can _die _of too much laughter.

Don't believe me? Google it.

* * *

><p>Struggling to break out of his girlfriend's grasp, Andre somehow broke out of it and crawled away from Jade.<p>

Tumbling out of the bedroom, Andre rushed downstairs.

Immediately giving chase, Jade yelled, "Don't run away! I was having so much fun!"

Once he reached the den, Andre stopped to catch his breath, but was tackled onto the couch by Jade.

* * *

><p>Preparing to be tickled some more, Andre was surprised when Jade started kissing him.<p>

Not that he didn't mind being kissed by her; it was just spur of the moment.

"Thought you were going to tickle me to death." he sighed, as Jade straddled herself on him, "But this... this is much better-"

Jade cut him off by crashing her lips onto his.

She was relentless when it came to making out with him, but Andre was just as fierce.

There was so much sexual tension that was bottled up between the two.

Both of them were just dying to release it.

* * *

><p>As Andre's hands rested on Jade's thighs, he slowly moved towards her plump backside.<p>

He really couldn't help but get a really good grip on it.

_Damn, she got it where it counts!_

Jade chuckled at his expression and asked, "You like that, huh?"

"I wouldn't be squeezing it if I didn't, now would I?" laughed Andre.

"Well, if you like that, then I know you'll _love _these."

As Jade moved up on him, Andre was treated to a _very_ nice view of her cleavage.

He quickly bit his lip, trying to keep from saying what was really on his mind.

Which probably would have been along the lines of_..._

_Boy, those are some nice puppies!_

Ha ha... '_puppies'_...

But really, in all honesty, they were just so ample!

And insanely round.

It was even more unbearable to resist considering that Jade was wearing a very low cut, blue shirt.

"Don't act like you don't like them." smiled Jade, "I've seen the way you've tried to sneak a glance every now and then... pervert."

Chuckling, Andre responded with, "I'm no pervert."

"Yes, you are, but that's okay. If you were any other guy, you would have had a cracked skull by now, but... you're not."

"The privileges of being the boyfriend. Sweet!"

"But you know what else is sweet?"

Taking a second to think, Andre asked, "What?"

"This."

Moving back down, Jade once again started kissing Andre.

Only this time, she started placing her hands under his shirt.

Feeling across his hard abs, she gradually made her way down to his belt.

Only one guess where this was going.

* * *

><p>Slowly getting caught up in the moment, Andre began remembering something.<p>

_This is definitely the perfect way to spend the start of summer break... although, I never thought that it would get to this point this quickly... wait... I'm forgetting something... what is it?_

With his belt completely off, Jade was eagerly unfastening his jeans when...

_...what am I forgetting?! What is so import- wait, I remember... I know what's so important... crap!... *sighs* we're not alone..._

As Jade gently crept her hand into Andre's boxers, a loud bang was heard near the back of the house.

* * *

><p>Startled, Jade quickly got off of Andre and went to go check on the noise.<p>

_Right when things were getting freakin' good... such perfect timing!_

Andre, rolling off of the couch and grabbing his belt, stumbled after Jade while fastening his jeans.

The couple had two good guesses on whom it was that caused that loud noise.

"I swear! When I get my hands on them!" yelled Jade, as she rushed into the kitchen.

The sheer sight of what was going on in there, furthered Jade's rage.

"What the fuck are you two doing?!"

* * *

><p>In the corner of the room, covered in dirt, grass, and dog kibble were Andre's little sister, Aubrey; Jade's little brother, Trent; and Jade's Husky, Buckles.<p>

Both the age of 12, Aubrey and Trent went to the same middle school and were actually really close friends.

By close friends, I mean, mischief buddies.

Forgetting that the two were spending most of the afternoon outside, Jade and Andre were furious to see the messy sight.

"Bree, can't I go a day without having to clean up one of your messes?" asked Andre, walking into the messed up kitchen, "What exactly were you guys doing to cause all this?!"

"And what were you doing to Buckles?!" Jade questioned, ruffling the dog's cluttered red fur, "He's all filthy and you know how difficult it is to clean him when he's like this."

"We were just playing around outside... and he got excited." explained Trent, brushing off the excess dirt that was caked in his short brown hair.

Noticing that Trent was trying to hide something in his pocket, Andre asked, "What's that?"

"What's what?" replied Trent, nonchalantly.

"That thing that you're trying to hide. What is it?"

Tired of her brother playing games, Jade reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a dog whistle.

Fuming, Jade asked, "A dog whistle?! You used a dog whistle on him?!"

"Well, Buckles got a little out of hand because of some squirrels; so Trent tried to use the whistle to calm him down." responded Aubrey, trying to stay calm in Jade's piercing gaze, "But that only made things worse; we had to chase him though the bushes, the garden; we even had to jump in the pool to get him out."

"We then chased him into the house and that's how we all crashed into the cabinet with dog food." added Trent, pulling a twig from out of Aubrey's ponytail, "So you see, it's not _entirely _my fault that this happened."

Jade just stood there; with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, she was practically shaking with anger.

Andre had never seen her look so furious. He almost began to think that she would breathe fire.

Both Trent and Aubrey looked too scared to even move an inch.

* * *

><p>Finally, after the most frightening twenty seconds ever, Jade spoke.<p>

Her voice was calm, yet you could tell that she was anything but.

"You used a dog whistle on Buckles? Do you even remember what happened the last time one was used on him?"

Trent just shrugged his shoulders.

"God, you can be so dense sometimes. Buckles isn't like most dogs! Dog whistles _really_ frighten him." Jade ranted, slamming the whistle on the kitchen counter, "I swear, I- you know what? Never mind. Just get cleaned up and clean up this mess before Mom gets home."

"What?! I can't clean all this by-"

"I _really _don't care. Now do what I say. **NOW!**"

The fury in Jade's voice was enough to send a shiver down everyone's back.

Andre could distinctly tell that she was really upset about this. He'd only hoped that Trent was wise enough to just do what she said.

* * *

><p>As Trent walked pass her, Jade could have sworn that she heard him muttered something that wasn't age appropriate.<p>

"Excuse me, what was that? 'Fuck who?'" she asked, putting her hand out to stop him.

Huffing, Trent responded, "Nothing... I said, nothing."

"That's what I thought." Jade replied, lowering her hand.

* * *

><p>While Jade went over to check on Buckles, Andre turned his attention to his sister, "Mom won't be happy to see your clothes like that."<p>

"You're not gonna snitch, are you?" Aubrey asked, pulling bits of grass from her hair.

"Nope... not this time. I wouldn't want to have to deal with you being grounded during summer break. I have more important things to do then watch over you."

Sighing with relief and rushing to hug her big brother, Aubrey rejoiced, "Thank God! She would kill me if she found out."

Taking out his car keys and handing them to Aubrey, Andre spoke, "Get in the car and wait for me, okay?"

"Sure." Aubrey responded, walking past Andre and Jade, "But could you please not get into another make out sess? You just seem to drag those on and on and..."

"Just get in the car." muttered Andre, as Aubrey left the couple alone, "And please, don't mess up my seats!"

"I can't make that promise!"

* * *

><p>Brushing some of the dirt that Aubrey left on him, Andre walked over to Jade and asked, "Hey, are you alright? You had me worried back there."<p>

Slowly calming down from earlier, Jade replied, "Yeah... sorry about that, I just- Trent can be an ass sometimes, especially to Buckles."

Looking down at the panting dog and patting his head, Andre stated, "You really care for him, I can just tell by how furious you got when you heard that Trent used a dog whistle on your dog. So you shouldn't be sorry for showing how much you care for Buckles. I personally think its sweet that you care so much for him. He's really lucky to have you."

Jade loved it when Andre would try to comfort her whenever she was really upset about something.

He was practically one of the few people whom could actually calm her down.

"You're right. You're absolutely right." sighed Jade, holding Andre's hand, "But I must say, you're much kinder to your sister, than I am with my brother."

"I wouldn't exactly say that. Sometimes I can be a little hard on Bree, but that's only when she's being a _real_ pain... which is basically all the time." Andre responded, "Besides, I saw what you did back there."

"What?"

"You held back. Near the end, you held back from unleashing hell on Trent."

Playing dumb, Jade scoffed, "Please, I didn't hold back on him."

"Yeah, right. You could have ripped him to shreds for what happened... but you didn't."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying that as much as they may annoy us, we'll always have a soft spot for our siblings. Even someone like you, Jade." insisted Andre, slowly pulling her in and kissing her behind her left ear.

_Damn, he had to go for my weak spot._

Giggling from Andre's subtle kisses, Jade replied, "Okay, okay! Maybe you're right. _Maybe._"

"See? Now was that so hard for you to admit?" beamed Andre, as he pulled away from her, "Aww, you're so cute when you blush like that."

Embarrassed that she was blushing, Jade quickly tried to change the subject, "Don't you have to take your sister home?"

"Yeah..." uttered Andre, rolling his eyes.

"Really wish that you didn't have to leave so soon. Things were just getting exciting."

Not wanting to leave either, Andre replied, "Don't worry, once I get Aubrey settled, check on my grandma, and change out of these clothes; I'll come back and help you clean Buckles, okay? Then after that, we can do anything that you want."

Grabbing his hands, Jade asked, "Really? Anything? Anything at all?"

"_Anything_."

With a very intriguing expression, Jade smiled, "I think I can come up with some stuff for us to do... and since I'm such a fool for you, we might can continue what we started earlier."

Remembering how far they went back in the den, Andre couldn't help but get a little excited.

Before he could even respond, the sharp sound of a car horn could be heard.

Andre sighed, "I should get going. She's crazy enough to drive off in my car."

* * *

><p>Giving him one last kiss, Jade spoke, "Don't take so long. You know how I feel about waiting."<p>

"Trust me, I know."

For a couple of seconds, they just stared at each other.

Both of them wanted to say _something _to the other... but for some reason, they felt like they shouldn't do it at the moment.

It had to be a real heartfelt moment to finally say those _words _for the first time.

But now wasn't the right time.

"Bye..."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>After Andre left, Jade gazed around the cluttered kitchen. There were splotches of dirt on the fridge, oven, cabinets, and counter tops.<p>

Scattered all over the floor was dog kibble; and unlike everyone else, Buckles really loved this mess.

"Of course, _you_ would enjoy this." Jade said, crouching down and ruffling his red fur, "You're a dog."

Looking up at Jade, Buckles made a small whimper.

"Kidding! I'm kidding. You're much more than that." she laughed, as Buckles licked her face, "Down boy, down! Too much loving."

Calming down, Buckles placed his head on Jade's lap.

Fondling his ears, Jade casually asked, "What do you think of Andre? Hmm? C'mon, I won't get mad."

All Buckles did was pant lightly and brushed his muzzle with his paw.

"I'll take that as you haven't had enough time to form an opinion of him." Jade stated, not caring that she was now sitting on the filthy floor, "Wanna know what I think of him? Well, he's incredible, like really incredible. And when I say that I mean, he stood out so much. He's smooth and charming and all, but that's not what I like about him. It's how he's not quick to judge. You've seen how I am sometimes with other people. I'm mean. I'm can be a mean girl. But Andre... he saw past that."

"I was really bitchy to him when we first met, but... he didn't let that first impression bother him. I mean, any guy that can overlook that and still forgive you for the crap that you've put him through... they can't be that bad, right?"

All Buckles did was lick his nose and looked up at Jade.

"Guess that means that I should already know the answer, huh? But I just... I just hope that I don't mess this up. Cause I honestly do... _love_ him." she sighed, gently caressing Buckles' ears, "You know, you're a really great listener."

Immediately, Buckles' ears perked up.

"But I still gotta give you a bath."

And just like that, they started sagging.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. You'll love it." she insisted, leading the dirty Husky outside, "And no splashing today. Last time, you got way out of hand, mister."


	18. The Girl With The Force Field

**Chapter Eighteen: The Girl With The Force Field**

* * *

><p>Arriving home, Andre and Aubrey snuck in through the backdoor of their house.<p>

Creeping through the hallways, they had to quietly wash and dry Aubrey's clothes before their mom woke up.

* * *

><p>Remember, she works at night. So she sleeps during the day.<p>

Jeez, do I always have to remind you guys of these simple facts?

* * *

><p>Stepping lightly into the basement, Andre and Audrey made there way to the laundry room.<p>

Once there, Andre said, "Take off your clothes in here, wrap one of those towels around you, get to your bathroom _quietly_, and get cleaned up. Okay? And please remember to stay **quiet**."

"I know how to keep quiet, I'm not an idiot." snapped Aubrey, grabbing one of the towels that was on the shelf above the dryer, "What are you gonna be up to?"

"I'm gonna go check up on grandma and then once I make sure that you're straighten out, I'm going back out." Andre explained, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, you're gonna hang out with _her_... again."

"So what if I am? It's none of your business."

"You're right, it's not."

"So stop nagging me about it."

"I'm not. It's just that out of all the girls for you to date, you just had to pick the meanest of them all?" Aubrey replied, taking off her mud covered shoes.

"Jade's not that m... okay, maybe she does have her moments." replied Andre, taking a moment to think about Jade's temperament, "But there's much, **much **more to her than you know."

"Of course, you would say that. It's probably all tequila, pot, and sex with her, isn't it?" Aubrey exaggerated, leaning against the washing machine, "Next thing you know, you'll have her hanging around the house bossing everyone and everything."

_Pot? No._

_Tequila? Maybe._

_Sex? Soon, I hope..._

* * *

><p>Tired of hearing his sister yammering on, Andre responded, "Let's get one thing straight: <strong><em>You're. Twelve. <em>**Okay? You need to stop meddling in my business and focus more on stuff twelve year olds do. Now get out of those dirty clothes and put them in the washer."

"Alright, alright! Don't throw a hissy fit." Aubrey giggled, as Andre walked out of the room and closed the door.

* * *

><p>Heading back upstairs, Andre made his way to his grandma's room.<p>

Carefully opening the door, he gazed inside of the dark room.

Not much could be seen, but the sound of his grandma snoring could be heard.

_At least she's sleeping peacefully._

After the accident with the cyclist, Andre's grandma had been taking some new medication.

It helped calm her down a bit, mostly by making her sleep every now and then.

Whatever works, I guess.

* * *

><p>Quietly closing the door, Andre went down the hall to his room.<p>

Spending the next twenty minutes taking a shower and changing into some fresh clothes, Andre looked at himself in the mirror.

With the sleeves rolled up on his indigo button-down, some dark straight jeans, and a pair of gray Converse Low Tops, he thought he looked pretty damn good.

Was it right to wear for washing a dog?

Nope.

But he at least wanted to look good for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>As he left the room, he was almost about to check up on his sister when...<p>

_**DING-DONG!**_

_Who could that be? _Andre thought, as he went to open the front door.

Standing there at 6'5, was a fairly built, bespectacled black man. He looked to be somewhat laid-back in nature, yet very sophisticated.

* * *

><p>When the man immediately saw Andre, he eagerly rushed to hug him.<p>

"How's my favorite nephew in the world?!" asked the guy, letting go of Andre, "Haven't seen you in what? A year?"

"Yeah, doesn't even feel like it's been that long." smiled Andre, as he gestured for his uncle to come in, "I almost forgot that you were still coming to stay with grandma."

A session bassist, Andre's uncle Victor put his career on hold and came all the way from Nashville to visit his mother after her ordeal several weeks ago.

"Should have called to remind you guys, but you know how things get." responded Vic, dragging his luggage into the den, "I could have gotten here sooner, but it took me a while to cancel my schedule."

"I'm not surprised, Mom said you were booked for a whole month in Texas." Andre said, as the two sat down on the couch.

"Yup, but family always comes first, not your career. Always remember that, Dre." sighed Vic, who looked relieved to finally be able to settle down, "So how's things been going for you?"

With an unsupressed grin, Andre sighed, "Pretty damn good to be honest."

Stroking his beard, Vic chuckled, "That's good to hear, but I'm even more curious about why you're smiling like that."

"Smile? What smile?"

"Hmm, glad to see that your still as coy as ever." laughed Vic, reading his nephew's expression, "Only one reason why a guy would have a goofy smile like that. Did Dre finally find that one special girl?"

Try as he might, Andre just couldn't stop grinning.

He was just really elated about his relationship with Jade.

Nothing wrong with that.

"She must be really special, isn't she?" questioned Vic, becoming more and more curious, "What's her name? How old is she? How does she look? How long have you two been together? Does she go to the same school as you?"

Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of questions, Andre exclaimed, "Whoa! Too many questions! You starting to sound like my mom."

"Sorry, I guess your mother and I are one and the same." laughed Vic, "But you can't be mad at us for just being happy that you've found someone."

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

><p>Taking out his phone, Andre flicked through several pics of Jade. Some were of the two of them together, and some were... very sexy photos of Jade.<p>

Lightly clothed, yet _very_ sexy.

_Best not show him those..._

* * *

><p>Finding that one <em>perfect<em> picture of his girlfriend, Andre showed it to his uncle.

It was perfect because it was one of those rare moments where Jade had that one, really adorable smile.

That very specific smile that he knew was meant _just for him_.

That was the _real _Jade West.

The one that Andre had the privilege of knowing.

* * *

><p>"Wow! She's really pretty." uttered Vic, "Never took you for liking Goth girls though. What's her name?"<p>

"Her name's Jade West, and we've been together for two days now." answered Andre, placing his phone back in his pocket, "But we've known each other for several years."

"And you really like her?"

"Yeah... hell, I more than like her."

"You _love _her?"

* * *

><p>Before Andre could answer, his phone's ringtone started to play.<p>

_*Her attitude is hotter than the Earths core. When she's around, nothing else matters. Untouchable, she's got her own force field.*_

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be." Vic snickered, as Andre got up to answer the phone.

"It'll just take a second." Andre replied, looking slightly surprised, "I could have sworn it was on vibrate."

* * *

><p>Once he was out of earshot of his uncle, Andre answered his phone, "Hello?"<p>

_{__**Hey, are you still coming back?**__}_

"Yeah, I just got a little sidetracked. Why?"

_{__**Well, I managed to clean up Buckles without you. So you don't have to worry about helping me with that anymore.}**_

Sighing heavily, he explained, "I'm sorry, my uncle stopped by and-"

_**{It's okay, it's just that my dad decided to show up a few minutes ago and...**__}_

Sensing what Jade was asking of him, Andre replied, "Don't worry, I'll be there shortly. Just... don't do anything rash."

_{__**Rash? It's like you don't know me at all.**__}_

"I'll see you soon. Bye." chuckled Andre.

_{__**Bye.**__}_

* * *

><p>After hanging up, Andre decided to check up on Aubrey before he left.<p>

To his relief, she was all cleaned up and was waiting for her clothes to finish drying.

Heading back to the den, Andre told his uncle that he was going to go hang out with Jade.

"I'm not surprised that you're going out with her tonight. No one dresses that clean to just hang around the house." replied Vic, as Andre grabbed his car keys from the table, "How long are you planning on staying out?"

Taking a moment to think, Andre really had no clue how long he would be out, "I really don't know. I promised her that we would do whatever she wanted for the rest of the night."

"Does that include doing **t****he** **d****eed**?" asked Teddy, with a sly grin.

Realizing what his uncle was asking, Andre replied, "What?! No, I mean... I don't know, _maybe_. But only if that's what she wants."

"Well, what about you? Hmm? Is Dre gonna get down tonight?" teased Teddy, nudging his nephew.

"Okay, I really have to go now" Andre sighed, as they both walked out of the den.

* * *

><p>Before Andre got a chance to go outside, Vic had something to tell him, "Andre, listen. I know that I may joke around sometimes, but in all seriousness, I want you and Jade to have a fun, yet<em> safe<em> time tonight. So remember... if you think she's spunky, cover your monkey."

Trying hard not to laugh, Andre replied, "I know, Vic. I know."

"But that's not all, I also wanted you to have this for tonight." Vic smiled, handing Andre a set of car keys, "While you were on the phone, I've given it some thought, and I think you're ready."

* * *

><p>Immediately remembering the car that Vic drives, Andre rushed out the front door, "No way! You actually drove it here?!"<p>

Seeing Vic's car brought back memories of spending the summer over in Nashville and learning how to drive in his uncle's car.

It was definitely the same car that he learn to drive with, but it had a different color.

"Yup, and now I'm trusting you with her." explained Vic, placing his hand on Andre's shoulder, "Trust me, one ride in _Scarlett_ will definitely make Jade's night."

"_Scarlett_?"

"Mmhmm, I gave her a new paint job and renamed her _Scarlett;_ and trust me, she's quite the feisty one." sighed Vic, looking amorously at his car, "Take very special care of her, okay?... and Jade, too."

"Don't worry, they're both safe with me." Andre responded, hugging his uncle, "And thanks, this is definitely gonna make our night."

* * *

><p><em>*sighs* Andre should have been here by now. Really wished he would have gotten here sooner.<em>

Sitting quietly on her front porch, Jade West was eagerly waiting for her boyfriend to show up.

She had long finished cleaning her dog, took a shower, and dressed up in one of her favorite outfits.

She was definitely ready for a long night out.

The only problem was that it was her brother's weekend to spend with their dad.

Which meant that Jade had to reluctantly speak to her dad when he showed up.

And as always, her parents would find something to argue about.

* * *

><p>Right now, they were bickering about Mr. West not reminding Trent that it was his weekend to stay over.<p>

_All they do is fight with each other. They can't have a simple conversation without either one of them starting something._

Even though she found it annoying how her parents would constantly argue, Jade grew rather used to it.

_And dad's storming out in 3... 2... 1..._

"You'll never change! Just the same bastard you always were!" shouted Ms. West, as the front door swung open.

Stepping out looking rather crossed, Mr. West was carrying what looked to be a poorly stuffed duffel bag.

"Yeah, a bastard looking to spend some time with his son!" he replied, as Trent reluctantly followed behind.

"_Please!_ You wouldn't be spending time with him if it weren't court ordered."

"Really? The boy is standing right there." stated Mr. West, gesturing towards Trent, "Do you even think of the things that you say?"

"That boy has a name! You'd think his own father would remember it." snapped Ms. West, "Oh, I'm sorry, you're probably too busy remembering your new wife's kids."

Across his stone-like face, Mr. West somehow looked even more furious than before.

As a matter of fact, both parents looked pretty pissed at each other.

Times like this made you wonder where Jade got her searing anger from more.

* * *

><p>Before Mr. West even had a chance to respond, Trent spoke up, "Can you guys please stop with the yelling? It's so stupid."<p>

Jade knew that out of everyone in the family, Trent was the one who was affected the most by their parent's conflict.

He was the youngest and he was the closest to both parents; so it wasn't that hard to figure out why he would be so upset by their arguing.

She also knew that deep down, Trent felt that he was responsible for their parent's divorce.

But Jade knew that this wasn't true... she was the one to blame.

* * *

><p>"Can we just go already?" Trent asked, taking the duffel bag out of his father's hand, "I'll be waiting in the car."<p>

As Trent left to go to his dad's car, Mr. and Ms. West looked as if they were finally starting to calm down.

It was a rarity, but it seemed like Trent was the only one who was able to do that.

Being almost invisible during the whole time, Jade nearly got through it without even saying a word to her dad.

But of course, her father had to find something else to talk about.

"I best get going; we've got quite a drive ahead of us." stated Mr. West, returning back to his stoic attitude, "Jade..."

"Dad..."

Glancing at what he considered a _provocative_ outfit for his daughter, Mr. West looked disapprovingly to say the least, "You look..."

"Be careful, dad. If you have nothing nice to say..." quipped Jade, with a smirk, "...don't say anything at all."

With a deep sigh, Mr. West realized that there was no point in even starting with her, "You're right. It just never gets any easier seeing my daughter look more and more like a whore."

* * *

><p>Seemingly unaffected by her father's harsh comment, Jade just sat there, trying to look impassive.<p>

She'd been called a lot worse by total strangers, yet it never phased her.

So why wasn't it any easier to completely ignore her father when he said things like that?

Sensing Jade trying to come up with a quick remark, Ms. West cut her off, "You know you have a long drive to San Diego, so maybe you should leave already."

Checking his watch and seeing that it was almost six o'clock, Mr. West said, "Yeah, it is getting late. Well, we'll see you again on Monday morning."

Without even as much as a goodbye, Mr. West walked off from them, got in his car and drove off.

* * *

><p>Feeling relieved that her ex-husband had left, Ms. West sighed, "You should know better than to egg your father on like that."<p>

"What do I care? He would have found someway to say it anyway."

"Jade, let's not start this up again."

"Then don't."

Frustrated, Ms. West gave up trying to reason with her daughter, "I'm gonna go lie down in my room. Maybe now I can get some rest to ease this headache. Don't stay out too late, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." replied Jade, while her mom went back in the house.

* * *

><p>Sighing deeply, Jade slouched back in her chair.<p>

Looking up at the graying sky, she slowly began to get lost in her thoughts.

_Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Just... just ignore it. Ignore it like you always do... *scoffs* Who am I kiddin'? Screw him! Screw him and every fuckin' think that he says! Who's he to freakin' judge?! *sighs* I stupid enough for letting this even bother me._

* * *

><p>Far in the distance, a low, rumbling sound broke Jade's thoughts.<p>

Curious as to what it was, she stood up and looked down the road.

_What is that?_

The louder and louder the sound gotten, the more Jade could make out what it was that the sound came from.

Closer and closer, a shimmering red muscle car came rolling down the road.

From what she could see, the driver looked awfully familiar.

_No way! How did he get that?!_

As the car eased up into the driveway, Jade walked over to it. Immediately, the first thing she was greeted by was her grinning boyfriend.

* * *

><p>Turning off the rumbling engine, Andre found himself quite speechless by what he was seeing.<p>

Fitted in a green tartan punk mini dress, Jade had the appearance of Gothic witch... a very, sexy one, mind you.

Her curvy frame was definitely amplified by the dress. From the short ruffled skirt of it to the riveted ankle boots she wore, her legs were greatly shown.

It was enough to make her stand out quite a bit.

* * *

><p>"Damn, girl." Andre smiled, as he got out the car and gave Jade a kiss, "I had no idea you would get all dressed up just for a simple night out."<p>

"It is a night of my choosing, so I thought, 'What the hell?'" grinned Jade, as her attention turned back to the muscle car, "But what I really wanna know is where did you get this sick car from?"

As Jade walked around the gleaming candy apple red car, Andre answered, "You can thank my uncle for this. He's staying in town and when he heard about our night out, he was gracious enough to let me borrow his '68 Charger. Which is really saying something cause he's **really **protective of it."

"Well, remind me to thank him later." uttered Jade, as Andre walked over to her side to open the door.

* * *

><p>As he stood by her, Andre could tell that something was troubling Jade.<p>

He could see that she was trying to hold up a front to keep him from worrying.

Quite the opposite was happening of course.

Stopping her from entering the car, Andre asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why you ask?"

"It's just that it looks like something's on your mind."

"I'm fine, so you don't have to worry."

Not buying into the lie, Andre reached to hold her hand, "Jade, please. If you wanna talk about it-"

"Nothing's bothering me and even if it was, it's none of your damn business!" snapped Jade, as she got in the car and slammed the door, "Can we just go already? I'm tired of being here."

* * *

><p>Stunned by his girlfriend sudden outburst, Andre replied, "Sure, whatever you say."<p>

Getting into the car and starting it up, he couldn't help but think about what could be bothering Jade.

_Whatever it is, it must be pretty serious. *sighs* I hate seeing her like this. But what could I do? If I try to ask her about it, she'd rip my head off; and if I don't, she could be upset for the entire night and our date would be ruined. Hmm, maybe I should just give her some time to cool down and then I could see what I can do. _

Slowly pulling out of the driveway and driving off, Andre looked over at Jade.

With her arm out the window and her head tilted slightly against the door frame, she had a sullen expression as she gazed blankly out at the passing houses and cars. Her mind filled with thoughts of anger and gloom, as she clutched her phone in her free hand.

Now was definitely not the best time to talk... at all.

But Andre had an idea that just might work.

All he needed... was time.


	19. Moonlight Confessions

**Chapter Nineteen: Moonlight Confessions**

* * *

><p>It had just turned 6 o'clock.<p>

More than ten minutes since the couple had departed.

For the first few minutes of their drive, Andre mostly cruised around the brightly lit streets of L.A.

He'd thought that the relaxing drive would calm Jade down a bit.

He was right.

It did soothe her some... but not enough.

She still didn't talk much; but when she did, all she would say was _"Mhmm"_ or _"I don't care"_.

One thing was for sure, Jade didn't look at all angry anymore.

She now had more of a depressed expression.

Not that this made Andre feel any better at all. If anything it made him worry even more about his girlfriend.

_She doesn't wanna talk at all! I'd hope that a cruise around town would help some, but it really didn't do much good. Sure, she doesn't look angry anymore, but... Hmm, maybe she'd like some food or something._

"Hey, uh. You hungry? We could get some sushi or grab some burgers or something."

Jade just sat there. Gazing out the window, looking almost as is she didn't hear him at all.

"Jade... did you hear me?" asked Andre, noticing that the car was running low on gas.

Almost as if she was snapped out of a daze, Jade jerked out of her trance and sighed, "I don't care, do what you want."

Feeling even more dejected than before, Andre pulled into the nearest gas station.

With the engine turned off, he looked over at Jade.

She was tinkering around with her phone, occasionally looking at YouTube videos of amateur stunts gone wrong.

Sighing heavily, Andre got out of the car and made his way towards the store.

* * *

><p>There was a large amount of people waiting in line to be serviced. Most of them were just there to buy rolls of lottery tickets.<p>

_Guess this will take awhile._

Looking around the aisles, Andre gazed about the vast quantities of snack foods and candies.

_Hmm, moon pies, gummy worms, Skittles, pretzels. The possibilities are endless._

He had his eyes set on buying some jelly beans, but something else caught his attention.

* * *

><p>Back in the car, Jade looked out at the passing motorists.<p>

She sighed as she remembered how the night was supposed to be.

It was intended to be a night of her choosing, but instead she'd chose to start it off pretty badly.

Deep down, she knew that this was a really terrible way to start off their date.

She knew this.

But for some reason, she couldn't open up or apologize for what had happened.

Jade wanted to... but she couldn't.

_**SLAM!**_

The sound of the car door slamming startled Jade. She didn't notice that Andre had already finished pumping gas, let alone get back in the car.

Glancing at Andre for a moment, she instantly went back to twittering with her phone.

But before Andre cranked up the car, he handed Jade a paper bag.

"What is this?" asked Jade, but Andre said nothing; he just returned his focus to driving off the lot.

Curious as to what was in the bag, Jade opened it up.

Immediately, a tiny yet noticeable smile eased its way across her face.

Inside, was a pack of her favorite candy.

Sour green apple licorice straws.

_(Chuckles) He knows how much I love these... that's so sweet._

Even though she appreciated the kind gesture, this made Jade feel even more depressed about how their night was going.

Andre was so kind.

So considerate.

So forgiving.

At times, Jade really felt like she didn't deserve him.

Like she didn't deserve his love.

I mean, why would a guy that sweet waste his time with a girl like her?

Closing the bag up, Jade sighed, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

And just like that, she'd once again went back to her gloomy demeanor.

* * *

><p>What once felt like a small victory for Andre, soon felt like a losing war.<p>

He had to do something.

Quick!

Something that could snap Jade out of her rut entirely.

_We live in one of the most entertainment filled cities of the world. There has to be something here to cheer-_

Remembering a poster that he saw back at the gas station, an idea came to Andre.

It was advertising an event that he felt Jade would absolutely love.

Andre only hoped that this idea would work for sure.

He was grasping at straws and was betting everything on where they were going.

* * *

><p>After about 30 minutes of driving, the couple finally arrived at their destination.<p>

It was a rugged warehouse-like building in a fairly empty part of town.

The only thing that wasn't vacant was the parking lot.

Tons of people were eagerly walking towards the entrance of the warehouse.

Whatever was going on in there must have been pretty exciting.

Jade, however, barely paid attention to any of this and was now listening to music on her phone.

She didn't even notice when Andre said, "Be right back.", and left to go inside of the warehouse.

It wasn't until he came back that Jade became aware of what was going on.

* * *

><p>As Andre opened up the passenger side door, Jade simply looked up at him.<p>

"What? What is it?" she mumbled, as Andre unbuckled her seat belt.

"C'mon, Jade. Enough of this pouting, okay?" Andre said, helping Jade out of the car, "You're prettier when you smile; and trust me, you'll smile when you see this.

Growing tired of feeling depressed, Jade decided to just go along with her boyfriend and stop resisting.

The closer and closer they'd got to the warehouse, the more they could hear the sound of a crowd cheering.

The moment that the two had reached the entrance, a fairly built man had blocked their path.

"Tickets?" he asked sternly, as Andre pulled out the tickets he'd bought earlier.

* * *

><p>Once they were allowed to go inside, the couple made their way up a flight of stairs and onto a platform.<p>

From the platform, they were able to overlook the event that was happening.

* * *

><p>The air was filled with a thunderous roar as the crowd cheered on the numerous women skating around on a track.<p>

Only these women weren't just skating... they were pulling each other into headlocks, slinging each other down the track, and some were even shoving one another out of the way.

Some would think of this as a brutal form of entertainment, but to Jade it was...

"Fuckin' awesome!" she smiled, as she looked down at the roller derby that was going on.

No one but Andre was more than happy to see his girlfriend smile.

"Yeah, it is isn't it?" he replied, focusing more on Jade's newfound happiness rather than the actual game.

* * *

><p>After finding an empty spot to sit among the crowd, the couple spent almost an hour enjoying the thrilling matches of the derby.<p>

By the end of the hour, Jade had grown more and more enthusiastic about the game as she continued to cheer on for one of the teams.

"Whoo! Yeah! Throw her off the track! Stop being afraid to get rough with her!" she shouted, as a group of players were trying to block an opposing player, "Oh, c'mon! I can skate better than that!"

Andre himself was even enjoying the game... though he did thought of it as a bit rough at times.

"Whoa! Oh my god, is- is she still breathing?!" he asked, as one of the players was shoved into a rack of folded chairs.

"I don't know- wait, oh, she's still alive." replied Jade, almost nonchalantly.

While the game was put on hold so that paramedics could attend to the injured player, Jade felt that now was probably the best time to apologize to Andre.

"Hey... I'm glad that you brought me here. I'm really enjoying myself." she said, as she reached to hold his hand, "Sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have-"

"Jade, it's okay. I forgive you." Andre smiled, who was glad that things were normal again, "I'm just happy to put all of that behind us, okay?"

"Sure." Jade smiled back.

Deciding to use this intermission to get some more snacks, Andre got up to go to the concession stand.

"Um, do you want another drink or a snack?"

"Just a soda."

"Just a soda, coming right up."

* * *

><p>Once he'd got to the stand, Andre had to wait before being serviced.<p>

One of the workers had her back turned to Andre; and from what he could tell, she was busy texting instead of working.

"Ahem, excuse me." Andre said, trying to be polite, "You do know you have a customer here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear that all the time." the blonde girl replied, as she turned around.

Glancing at Andre, the girl immediately knew who he was.

"Well, well, if it isn't Hollywood Arts finest himself." the blonde girl smiled, "Never thought I would see you around here."

Confused, Andre asked, "Do I know you?"

The girl simply giggled and reached out to caress Andre's dreads, "Hmm, I guess it has been a while, has it?"

Moving the girl's hand away from him, Andre said, "Yeah, I honestly don't remember you at all.

The girl looked slightly disappointed by this, "Aww, I would have thought that I made a lasting impression on you. I am an incredible singer, _remember_?"

* * *

><p>After what felt like five minutes of waiting, Jade began to wonder exactly what was keeping Andre.<p>

_The next match is about to begin and he's gonna miss it. How long does it take to get a soda?_

Tired of waiting, Jade decided to go find out what was going on.

Getting closer to where the concession stand was, Jade stopped short once she heard Andre's voice.

"Look, can I please just have two bottles of _Mr. Fizz _and a box of _Skittles_? That's all I'm asking."

"Uh-uh, not until you give me your phone number."

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm already in a relationship?"

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you really mean it." replied the blonde girl, stubbornly refusing to give up, "Now, I get off in an hour. How about you ditch the _girlfriend..._ so then I can give you something sweeter than _Skittles._"

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing.

_Who the hell is this chick? And how fuckin' lame can she be?!_

* * *

><p>Hearing enough of this, Jade made her way over to the stand.<p>

"Ahem!"

Turning around to see his ever so curious girlfriend, Andre knew that he should explain the situation... quickly.

"Jade... you remember our old friend from the Karaoke Dokie?" he explained, as the blonde girl began to look quite infuriated at the sight of Jade.

"How could I forget?" said Jade, instantly remembering the irritable blonde, "Tone-deaf Tara Ganz. I'm surprised to see you working here; at least you're not scarring anyone with your terrible singing."

"You're one to talk. You and your little redhead friend had to cheat just to beat us." Tara quickly responded, not caring that there was a build up of customers waiting in line, "But you know, it's still funny how technically you didn't beat us because of your singing-"

"Oh god, please don't bring this back up!" sighed Jade, growing tired of dealing with Tara, "Why am I not surprised that someone like you loves to live in the past?"

"Yeah, that was well over a year ago anyway." Andre added, eager to prevent an argument from starting, "Why can't we all just move along from it? It doesn't matter anymore."

Stunned to see Andre take up Jade's side, Tara moved from behind the stand, "No, it does matter! And why are you agreeing with her... wait, is she your girlfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Not that it's any of your business." replied Jade, with a smirk.

"Seriously? Hmm, and here I thought you had great taste in women." laughed Tara, as a few of the customers started to get irritated.

Feeling insulted, Jade asked, "And what do you mean by that?"

"Well, which would you rather prefer? A classy, sophisticated girl like me or some cheap hooker wannabe like you?"

Sensing Jade was about to jump on Tara, Andre moved as quickly as he could...

_**THWACK!**_

But not before Jade was able to get a swing at Tara, which landed directly on her cheek.

"Ow! You crazy bitch!" cried Tara, as she fell to the floor, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Not bad for some cheap hooker!" Jade shouted, as some of the agitated customers started cheering.

Only fans at a roller derby would be happy to see an irresponsible worker swung on.

* * *

><p>As Andre continued to drag Jade out of the building, she wouldn't stop wringing around, "Let me go, Andre!"<p>

"Only if you've calmed down!" he replied, worried that Jade would rush back inside.

"Okay, okay! I'm calm." said Jade, as Andre slowly loosen his grip around her.

Seeing his girlfriend quickly wiping away a tear, Andre asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... who gives a fuck what she thinks?" sniffled Jade, as she walked towards the car, "Can we just go, please?"

* * *

><p>Taking the car keys out of his pocket, Andre sighed.<p>

He'd finally got Jade all cheered up and back to her normal self... yet it was all wiped away just like that.

What else could he do?!

They went for a relaxing cruise around town.

He bought her some of her favorite candy.

He even took her to a roller derby, which she really enjoyed.

The more Andre thought about it, the more he felt like giving up.

What was the point? Nothing was gonna break her out of her rut... again.

* * *

><p>Eventually, Andre got in the car, cranked it up and drove out of the lot.<p>

Once again, the couple found themselves cruising down the freeway in a quiet car.

Never has there been a more painful silence.

By now, all hope had seemed lost for Andre.

His girlfriend was once again unresponsive, so what was the point in even trying?

* * *

><p>Looking at the clock on the dash, Andre saw that it was half past eight.<p>

He'd slowly grown frustrated of the dire situation.

It got to the point where he was beginning to question whether or not this date was really salvageable.

* * *

><p>In desperate need of some fresh air to think in, Andre turned off at an exit and drove towards one of the local parks.<p>

Finding an empty parking space, he was quick to get out of the car and began to walk up a wooded pathway.

After spending a minute hiking up some stone steps, Andre came across a small clearing.

It was dimly lit by a small light post; enough light to see what was around him, but not enough to block out the emerging stars.

* * *

><p>As he walked towards the wooden fence post that surrounded the area, Andre saw that it was the perfect spot to see most of the city's skyline.<p>

He slowly breathe in the cool, fresh air and began to think.

_What if this is how all of our dates turn out to be? Jade being upset by something. Me trying to find some way to cheer her up. Only to end up failing miserably. I mean, I knew what I was getting into when I got in this relationship. I knew that Jade wasn't like most girls... I knew that it would be more difficult at times. _

For a brief second, he could feel his mind start to wonder exactly how Beck-

_No... no, I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna compare myself to him._

Blocking his mind of that thought, Andre sat down on one of the wooden benches and stared up at the twinkling stars.

_It's so easy to give up. So damn easy. But what does that give me? A relationship that failed well before it even started. So why give up now? I have to be patient. I was patient when it came to finally being with Jade... so who's to say that I can't endure just a little bit longer. _

* * *

><p>As he looked back down from the skies, Andre could see Jade arriving at the clearing.<p>

From what he could tell, Jade, too, had been thinking about their horrible date night.

Once she'd sat next to him, Andre could tell that Jade had been crying.

She was trying her best to not make him notice it, but it was pointless.

* * *

><p>For a good minute, they said absolutely nothing.<p>

They had so much on their mind, yet couldn't find the right words to say.

"Awesome date night, huh?" asked Jade sarcastically, breaking the painful silence.

"The best I've ever been on." Andre replied, unable to shake his moodiness.

Looking as if she was trying to find the right words, Jade said, "You know, I never meant for the night to turn out like this."

Andre kept quiet. Somewhat interested in hearing what she had to say.

"It was wrong of me to give you the cold shoulder like that." continued Jade, "All you've tried to do all night was make me feel better, and what do I do? I kept acting like a little baby!"

Remaining silent, Andre simply glanced over at Jade.

"It may not mean much to you now, but... thanks, Andre. For everything." sighed Jade.

Slowly, Andre began to ease out of his dourer mood. It was one thing to hear Jade apologize for what happened, but it really meant something that she was grateful of what he tried to do.

Any other guy would have probably called Jade a "bitch" from the moment she snapped at them; either that or just given up on her and the date entirely.

But not Andre.

* * *

><p>"I-I know that I'm not the most sensible girlfriend or the most gracious, but... you don't know how much it means to have someone like you in my life. Especially with how I am sometimes." said Jade, growing more comfortable with what she was saying, "And for that, I'm truly sorry for snapping at you earlier."<p>

Seeing that her boyfriend wasn't up for saying anything, Jade sighed, "If what we have together is ever going to work, there's one thing that you need to know. Even though we have a close bond, there are certain things that I don't like talking about with _anyone_."

Starting to understand her reason for her behavior earlier, Andre finally spoke up, "Okay, I understand now. Wished I figured it out earlier, but I'm glad that I know now."

Happy to hear her boyfriend speaking up, Jade simply smiled.

"Whatever it was that was bothering you earlier, it wasn't any of my business or my place to keep asking you about it." Andre continued, "So I guess I should apologize for that too."

It slowly felt pretty good for both of them to get on better terms. Being all upset wasn't going to get them anywhere.

* * *

><p>Now that she was more calm and her mind was now clear, Jade felt that now was the time to say how she really felt.<p>

"Thanks, but you were only doing that cause you cared." said Jade, seemingly nervous about her next choice of words, "So if I'm ever _cold _like how I was earlier, it doesn't mean that I don't... love you."

Those last two words rang loudly in Andre's ears.

Try as he might, he couldn't help but smile.

"So... you love me?"

For the first time ever, Andre saw that Jade looked a little shy about what she was about to say.

But eventually, her confidence shown through.

"Yes. _I love you_."

Taking a moment to think of what to say, Andre held Jade's hand, "Well, what if I were to say that I love you too?"

With a small chuckle, Jade replied, "I would love that very much."

"I love you too, Jade West."

Hearing those words returned to her had definitely made Jade's night.

Hell, it made both of their night's.

* * *

><p>With their confessions of love to one another out in the open, the couple shared a sweet, tender kiss under the bright moonlight.<p>

Who knew that a date could start off terribly, yet end so perfect?

* * *

><p><strong><em>Rumble. Rumble.<em>**

"Hmm, I guess someone's hungry." chuckled Andre, as the two laughed at Jade's rumbling stomach.

"Well, a girl's gotta eat." smiled Jade, as they got up to leave the clearing, "I get to choose where we eat though."

"Of course, it is still your night." agreed Andre, as he reached to hold her hand as they walked down the steps, "So what will it be? Burgers? Sushi? Tacos?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." smiled Jade, "But I think you'll love it."

* * *

><p>As they made their way to the car, Andre thought of how he had to be patient for things to get better.<p>

_Jade is well worth the wait._

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!<span>_**

**_I know that I'm terrible with the sporadic updating of stories; but the way I see it, it's best to wait for a nearly perfect chapter than a rushed, half-assed one. _**

**_So consider this chapter my Christmas present to you all. :)_**

**_Anyway, this chapter was a bit of a pain in the ass to write (even though I love how it turned out). I had to rewrite the ending a total of ten times! So I'm pretty glad that I'm done with this chapter._**

**_Also, be sure to look out for the next update cause it's the conclusion of this date night (and if you remember how Chapter 17 started)... it's gonna be pretty interesting._**

**_Hoping you all are having a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!_**


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